Lifelong Fitness Promotes Unhealthy Relationships with Food
Reported By: Bryn Heikes
Illustrated By: Sydney Simmons
Up until this last academic year, all incoming George Fox University (GFU) students were required to take HHPA 120 (Lifelong Fitness) for one semester in order to graduate. But frankly, the class itself doesn’t add a singular drop of value to my college of education. Guess what? Carbohydrates exist! Feeling depressed? Try thinking positively!
What’s more, two aspects of this class are actually harmful for college-aged students: the nutrition unit and the body composition tests that bookend the semester. Requiring calorie counting and body composition tests promotes unhealthy relationships with food and poor self-image, primarily for college-aged women.
For seven days, students are required to record the type of food and amount of calories they consume. The recommended tool to assist in calorie tracking is the MyFitnessPal app.
The National Library of Medicine published a study revealing that 73% of MyFitnessPal users report the app contributing to their eating disorder. And, according to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), almost 35% of college-aged women are diagnosed with eating disorders.
I’m sure the administration didn’t establish Lifelong Fitness to cause the student population to develop unhealthy relationships with food. In theory, calorie and macronutrient tracking can help individuals identify holes in their current diets. I, personally, don’t eat nearly enough protein or fresh fruits and veggies. As much as it pains me to say it, this assignment helped bring this to my attention.
However, when working with a group of people who are extremely vulnerable to eating disorders, an assignment like this is far too risky, and proven to do more harm than good.
In an attempt to recognize these risks, an alternate assignment is offered to those who may be triggered by calorie tracking. However, the alternate assignment is literally a 3-5 page paper, where students are asked to provide a “narrative of your previous experience with nutrition.”
I am sincerely asking how this is any less harmful than the calorie tracking assignment. For one, the workload is not even close to being equal. One involves plugging numbers into an excel sheet for a week, the other is practically writing a novel about an incredibly triggering topic.
At the beginning of the semester, all students are required to take part in body composition tests, which include BMI and waist circumference. Students then set goals in each category to meet by the end of the semester.
Harvard Medical School published an article in 2020 reporting that BMI is an unreliable, inaccurate indicator of health. Additionally, Loma Linda University of Health reports that weighing oneself can trigger negative self-talk, poor self-image, and disordered eating.
The waist circumference test isn’t any better. Scientifically speaking, it can technically be used to assess one’s risk of future health problems. But just speaking from experience, it’s kind of mortifying to have some stranger whip out a measuring tape and wrap it around your waist.
After Thanksgiving, I caught myself worrying about how a weekend full of delicious food was going to impact my end-of-semester body composition test. This was absolutely ridiculous. I should look at my body and think about what it’s capable of, not worry about how much I weigh, or the circumference of my waist.
Lifelong Fitness was a 3-credit waste of my time. But beyond the annoyances of uninformative lectures and push-up tests, the curriculum involves multiple assignments that can trigger unhealthy relationships with food and poor body image in a vulnerable population.