Watch your weight or you'll miss out on your degree

Officials at Lincoln University said that the school is simply concerned about high rates of obesity and diabetes, especially in the African-American community.

"We know we're in the midst of an obesity epidemic," said James L. DeBoy, chairman of Lincoln's department of health, physical education and recreation. "We have an obligation to address this head on, knowing full well there's going to be some fallout." The fallout began this week on Lincoln's campus about 70km southwest of Philadelphia, where seniors began realising their last chance to take the class would be this spring.

Tiana Lawson, a 21-year-old senior, wrote in this week's edition of The Lincolnian, the student newspaper, that she "didn't come to Lincoln to be told that my weight is not in an acceptable range. I came here to get an education". Lawson said she has no problem with getting healthy or losing weight. But she does have a problem with larger students being singled out.