Carleton University removes weight scales from gym
The recreation and athletics department at Carleton University has recently decided to remove the weight scales from the gym, sparking a great deal of controversy on their campus.
In an email to CBC News, the manager of wellness programs at Carleton, Bruce Marshall, cites “current fitness and social trends” as the motivation behind the decision, saying that the weight scale “does not provide a good overall indication of health and here at athletics we have chosen to move away from focusing solely on body weight.”
Carleton’s campus newspaper, The Charlatan, quoted a student who supports the scale removal as saying that scales can be “triggering,” especially for someone with an eating disorder.
Others have criticized the university for giving in to “trigger culture,” saying that those who are offended by the scales could simply choose not to use them.
However, weight is crucial for some sports, such as boxing and rowing. Many athletes rely on the weight scales and may not have access to an accurate scale they can use at home or elsewhere, which could cause considerable difficulties when they need to know their weight for training or competing.The weight scales may not, as Marshall says, provide a good overall indication of health. I agree that weight shouldn’t be used as the sole measure of health, but I think that weight can contribute to an overall awareness and maintenance of good health. As well, weight doesn’t have to carry negative connotations, but could be merely one indicator of your health.
On the other side, weight does carry negative connotations for many people and it’s not always necessary—and often not the best way—to measure fitness goals.Marshall suggested in his email to CBC News that people could keep track of their progress and fitness level through alternative methods; such as measurements of your torso, hips, arms, and legs, or by tracking your cardio patterns to watch for improved cardiovascular capacity both at rest and during exercise.
In some cases, using these alternative methods may provide a more accurate measure of health. In other cases, these alternative methods, paired with weight, will provide the most comprehensive measure of health.
In response to much of the ongoing controversy, Beth Gorham, a Carleton spokesperson, told CBC News on March 23 that the gym itself is still without a scale. To offset this, a scale has been put into the men’s change room and the scale that was in the women’s change room was never removed.
Photo by Alora Griffiths.