Yale Student Says University Forced Her to Gain Weight
A 92-pound Yale history major says the university's health center told her she needed to gain weight or take a leave of absence from school. She's spent the past 6 months trying to put on pounds for her weekly weigh-ins.
Frances Chan, 20, told the New Haven Register that she tried everything to gain weight, but only put on 2 pounds from September to April.
"I ate ice cream twice a day. I ate cookies. I used elevators instead of walking up stairs. But I don't really gain any weight," she said.
Yale's health services staff also required Chan to meet with a nutritionist and a mental health professional to determine whether she had an eating disorder. Chan, who is 5'2", says she doesn't: Her parents and grandparents also had small frames.
In a Huffington Post essay titled "Yale University Thinks I Have an Eating Disorder," Chan argued that the school places too much emphasis on Body Mass Index as a measure of overall health.
Her argument apparently worked.
Chan said on Facebook that she and her parents are now working with new doctor at Yale, who said the university made a mistake by focusing too much on Chan's weight, and apologized for "months of anguish" caused by the mandate to put on pounds.
A Yale spokesman declined to comment to the Register about the situation, because the university can't publicly discuss an individual student's medical treatment.
