Fitness levels for medicine

[Mo-Zaki]

Hi,

I'm going into year 11 after the summer holidays and while playing football with friends, over the weekend, a good friend of mine, who was aspiring to become a Doctor started talking about how he had to lose weight to increase his chance of getting into medical school. I was shocked by what he was saying as I never really believed that fitness was a requierement for becoming a Doctor.

Is fitness a requirement?

I play loads of sports; football and tennis at a high level, but yet I do not consider myself to be in the best of shape. So, I was just wondering if this is a key factor?

Thanks, in advance, for your help.

[jdr06]

hell no it isnt, i think if somebody was seriously overweight ppl might advise them to lose weight purely due to health reasons. as for applications to med school it shouldnt have any bearing at all (unless you are talking really super morbidly obese ie requires a crane to be moved). it is true that after you get given your offer, around the time they do the CRB check they send you a questionaire asking how much you weigh, how much you drink etc but it wont have any bearing on whether they give you a place or not. i play rugby and weigh over 100kg and i havent been told to lose weight, so it definitely isnt an issue.