Chapel Hill, N.C. • The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has revised a textbook for a required fitness course that called cancer “a disease of choice” and included a theory asserting Holocaust victims failed to tap into their inner strength.
The News & Observer reports the university released a statement saying revisions to "21st Century Fitness" began in spring, in cooperation with the publisher. The university had made no mention of a revision when asked about the textbook's contents last month.
The textbook is part of online courseware sold by Perceivant to multiple universities, and was authored by two Brigham Young University faculty members. Co-author Ron Hager defended the book as promoting healthy lifestyles.
Last week, the Simon Wiesenthal Center demanded UNC drop the textbook, which it said “insults the memory of Holocaust victims.”
