Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario recently did something that I think we all can applaud. They removed the scale from the school’s gym earlier this month. Where the scale used to be is now a poster that encourages students to look at other things to indicate health than their weight.
Manager of health and wellness Bruce Marshall told the school paper, “We don’t believe being fixated on weight has any positive effect on your health and well-being. The body is an amazing machine and even when we are dieting and training it will often find a homeostasis at a certain weight.”
Just like any other major decision, the removal of the scale caused positive and negative feedback from the student population. “Scales are very triggering,” freshman Samar El Faki told the school. “I think people are being insensitive because they simply don’t understand. They think eating disorders are a choice when they are actually a serious illness.”
On the other hand, sophomore Marko Milijusevic said “We shouldn’t remove something because some people abuse it. If they can’t handle the number that shows up on the scale, then don’t step on it.”
Marshall said that the school is now debating putting scale in the male and female locker rooms as opposed to the one in the main facility.