I’m all for adding wellness to the benefits package and for launching wellness initiatives in the workplace. The better you treat your employees the more likely you are to attract and retain good employees.
With that out of the way I wonder how they judged the cost of obesity. There are a number of conflicting studies out there regarding the cost of obesity to America and to business. I think we tend to focus on one issue and exclude any other causal factors. For instance, did they factor for obese smokers? Heavy drinkers (pun intended)? Risky behaviors? Family history? There are too many things that go into this for me to blindly accept that obesity along costs $45B a year.
But whatever the cost, it’s still worth helping people stay in shape and stay healthy. I’d just rather we didn’t try to mess it all up by throwing out numbers that may mean nothing.
according to the BMI charts I am substantially overweight. However I also run an average of 4 miles per day, my cholesterol levels, blood pressure and heart rate are all great. I’m fat, but fit. The government BMI charts are not a good indicator if someone is really overweight or not. While I agree there are lots of overweight people in the US, using the BMI as a measure is not valid.
That is very true. If I remember correctly Europe doesn’t use the BMI. There are at least three different BMI calculations in the U.S. and none of them account for body-type. I’m much more a fan of looking at body composition (through calipers or even better through displacement testing) and overall fitness. If you’re heart, lungs and everything else is good, that’s all that really matters.
good point Mr. Lastbat. As a female and a Muslim and an American, I often wonder how I am considered for polling data. Having said that, people need to eat healthier in our country. In my birthland you do not see men in 40 inch waist pants with a Big Mac hanging out of their mouths.
I also am an overweight, obese if you will, person. I am completely healthy and have physicals every year. Why should my pants size matter to an employer? Years ago (150+) large people were thought to be health & wealthy, that changed with the whims of society. Why should I be punished by having an employer nosing around in my life, just because I am larger than society says I should be. I am completely happy with who I am. Also, if I was the weight that the BMI says I should be, I would look anorexic; would the employers say anything then?
I wonder if it is the stress occuring in the work place that is driving people to eat? If so, companies would be wise to address the cause,(stress)instead of the effects, (obesity)..!!
Wondering, you are dead on!! I notice myself sitting at a desk all day tending to munch on snacks (vending machine types). However, on the weekends I tend to not snack as I’m busy doing yard work or whatever. My friends who work in construction are all perfect weight, while I’ve gained some. Age has something to do with it, but I think mostly the stress of the job and not moving around to get rid of the fat.
With America on the way toward a recession and us already being overworked per employee, I don’t see my company hiring anyone to help with our workload and reduce our stress. They do have a staff of people that send us worthless emails on how we should exercise and eat right…Blah blah blah. Fire them and hire some help for us in the trenches!
I am not one of the skinny minnies to say the least, and I’m sure that the BMI charts would say I am obese. But oddly, I am rarely ever sick. But as for the size 4 chick down the office corridor… she seems to be more sickly than most. She is always complaining, feeling ill, out sick, coming down with something, visiting the doctor, coughing… etc. Perhaps she doesn’t eat enough to stay healthy? Can we get a number on them?
I would have a much better chance of exercising 30 minutes a day if I didn’t have to work so many hours. I agree that stress and work/life balance factor heavily (pun definitely intended!) into our health as a society.
The intent of the article was to say in general, people who would be considered overweight (by methods of BMI, body measurements, body fat analysis) tend to cost a company more than those who are not considered overweight. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule, but overall I believe this is true. And don’t blame it on stress, or on family, or on work, or on the vending machines down the hall, or on the fast food joints on your ride home, or “this is just how my family is”. In the Insurance Journal, we are very quick to point out that no one takes responsibility for their actions anymore. Here is a great opportunity to do just that!
I really appreciate these intelligent postings – so far people are really on their A-thinking game today. I agree with Fatima – I think people from other countries wonder what is Americans’ problem? As some have stated it really is a multitude of factors. The stress, sitting at your desk has really been shown to increase your size hence you need to move but if you do then you’re a social butterfly (yes I have been told this!), etc. I am considered obese also but if I am out “sick” then I really stayed at home to catch that early morning gym class I’ve been wanting to and spend the rest of the day running errands and catching up on Judge Judy. My cholesterol is the same if not better than my more “fit” siblings, thank God. I believe some people literally eat themselves to death but pinpointing a group and making them all out to be the company “deadweights” and drains on resources will lead to a very slippery slope. What if your employer finds out your a swinger or a “dancer” (i.e. naked dance floor technician)? Are those people going to be charged more for their risky behavior? No – because those things can easily stay hidden and being “fat” is obvious. There are skinny people with cholesterol levels over 200 – 300 and they too would be “high-risk”. Are they going to be targets too?
People can make fun of overweight / obese people but everyone has skeletons medical or otherwise that some people would consider risky so don’t think you too can come under the miscroscope of your employer. If there is anyway they can weed out certain people then obesity is just one thing they can do.
Anyway there was one morning show where this syndicated talk show host offered almost $20K to his body guard to lose almost 100 pounds and he reached the goal.
Excellent comments, all of you. Thoughtful and well said.
Blondie has a good poing about thin people who are sickly. How much do they cost employers? Or has anyone ever bothered to check?
I think obesity is singled out because we can see it, it’s obvious… therefore easy. If someone is a smoker, drug addict, or heavy drinker, those things are easier to conceal.
As far as employers seeking “treatments” for their obese employees, hold your horses. There have been studies on how some diets and types of dieting are actually quite hard on one’s health. To change one’s weight is to change one’s lifestyle completely.
I’m definitely in the “more to love” category and having grown up in the Kate Moss era, I was bombarded with messages from the media and society about how I was supposed to hate myself for being bigger than average. My response was to crash diet, take pills, starve, compuslively exercise for weeks then crash from being malnourished. Think that did much for my health?
Enough with the madness! I don’t have to hate myself or the way I look. I’ve grown to love the fact that I have a Rubenesque shape.
These days, I eat smart and take it easy on the refined carbs, sugar, and saturated fats. I walk a couple miles a night 3 to 4 nights a week. I get good sleep, I don’t smoke, I drink a lot of water and y’know what? I’m still big. But I feel super. I rarely miss work and I visit my doctor maybe 2 or 3 times in a year.
Tell me how I’m costing my employer so bloody much money… Yet, just because someone can LOOK at me and see I’m big, I’m going to get lumped into the “unhealthy” category? Not fair. Not by any means, especially when there’s a size 6 next to me who smokes like a steam engine and calls in sick every other week.
Dear employer, mind your own business. If you think health care costs too much, don’t look at me. I didn’t set the price…
An earlier post mentioned this as a perfect opportunity for people to take responsibility for themselves, and I think we’ve seen that. KLS says she’s moving more, eating right, larger than society says is normal, but is healthy. There was another poster that noted they gained weight because they eat from the vending machine. Sounds like we know where our issues are.
And the issue really is – who is costing more? It’s the people who call in sick and the people who constantly go to the doctor. While obesity, like smoking and drinking, can be a predicator of future health problems employers do need to look at who is actually costing them money and deal with that. If employers hold employees to their attendance and productivity policies they won’t have to worry if they’re a 30″ waist or a 40″ waist.
My philosophy has always been that you’re only given one body, so you better take care of it. There was a study I saw a few months ago that said the overall health costs of obese people are less than non-obese people because of the shorter lifespans and other factors.
We’re idiots because we ask people to take responsibility for their actions? Or lack thereof? My bad. What was I thinking?!?!?! I think I’m gonna pack on some pounds and then sue Burger King because they made their food so yummy and irresistable. Wait, have I heard that somewhere before?
Smokers. Drinkers. People not in monogomous relationships. Non-married people. People without children. People with genetic predispositions to certain ailments. People who enjoy extreme sports. People who play the stock market. In that order.
This isn’t sounding as funny as it did in my head, but maybe that’s just me.
I thought we were having an adult conversation about healthcare costs. Dubya, you’re the one responsible for slashing money to cover health care and you’re not in favor of universal health care. As a “C” student you’ve made us a stench to Muslims, Jews, and over half of the civilized world.
Remember it was America that educated Saddam Hussein and the FBI trained Osama Bin Laden.
Don’t sleep. It really could come to that. Big brother is always watching – your weight (SMILE). I get pissed that I have to pay property taxes some of which goes to schoolchildren. I don’t have any children yet so can I get my money back?
I just read a publication citing $600 billion annually in medical costs for sports related injuries and death and that figure does not include lost productivity and wages for the employer.
Seems to me all those “healthy exercisers” cost more money than the couch potatoes. Maybe employers should consider those cost and discourage exercise to save on the bottom line too?
That number (for children 14 and under – don’t forget older teens have jobs too) is estimated at over $74 Billion… that leaves $526 billion for us adults. Sport injuries to those over the age of 65 was estimated at $516 million in 1999, (we’ll bump that up to a nice $1 billion today) that leaves $525 billion…
Are we going to trim the fat off this number a bit more or just get to the point. Add up a bunch of numbers and you get a even bigger number that you can critique all you want… obesity, sports, drinkers, smokers, blondes… who is next?
I think the advantages of an athletic lifestyle far outweigh the risk of potential injury. And since you are making comparisons to the risks associated with smoking and drinking, please tell me what the benefits of those two activities are?
Thanks for the info, Blondie. Maybe Slim will shut up. How do we know he’s not fat or used to be? If a person cannot fit into their cubicle – that’s a small number of large people and most of them are on the show “Big Medicine” and/or collecting disability benefits and therefore not able to work. Slim, please get a clue or get off IJ!
From a risk/reward standpoint it is arguable that the rewards of an athletic lifestyle outweigh the benefits – especially given the frequency of injury and potential severity involved in athletics.
As for the benefits of smoking – you’ve got decreased stress, leading to fewer stress related syndromes. Same thing with drinking. I’m not advocating either, but those are the benefits. Drinking in moderation has also been recently connected in some studies to better overall health. So far the only benefit to smoking is avoiding the stress of nicotine fits (I’m not a smoker, I’m just throwing something out here).
I just checked the CDC’s website for obesity trends and measurement tools. CDC’s measure is Body Mass Index (BMI), which is what the Conference Board’s report uses.
Problem is, the BMI’s relationship between height and weight is linear, instead of cubic. Think about it: if you are 20% taller–say 72 inches vs 60 inches–you should be 20% wider and 20% deeper if you maintain your proportions. Since weight is roughly a function of volume (a cubic function), someone 1.2 times the height of another should be expected to be 1.72 times the weight of the smaller person. (1.72 = 1.2 x 1.2 x 1.2) But the linear relationships of the BMI table do not align with this. As Americans have gotten taller, this linear-vs-exponential discrepancy throws more people into the “obese” category.
My conclusion: “granus cum salis.”
Why are they idiots? Is it just because you don’t like what they say? Did it hurt your little feelings? Everyone has had excellent points up to your anonymous post. If you have feelings of inadequacy please don’t project them upon others, go see a therapist instead.
The original question was why did fatima feel the need to bring it to the discussion. She brought it up and has nothing to do with the topic at hand.
She could have easily have made her point about 30 inch vs 40 in waists and big mac attacks without having to mention that she is muslim.
Is she looking for the persecution so she can point and say “look they are don’t like me cause i’m (fill in the blank here)!”
Blondie has the best comment so far although I tired of reading them & skipped a few. Besides WGASA? How about Sumo wrestlers? They are among the healthiest athletes.
What is the next physical characteristic or life habit that these companies will choose to target? A company here in Michigan started the trend of not hiring and even firing smokers. Will we all have to be blond, blue-eyed little ethnic nazis? Slippery slope for sure.
there are those of us that are genetically disposed to not look like Kate Moss (thankfully) and i think it’s those of that fit into that range where we are bigger but healthy and active that fear the extremists will come in and say we can’t work anymore even though we may be healthier than a thin person who drinks/smokes excessively.
BMI Index charts, the size chart on the back of a pair of pantyhose, etc….are all fine and good, but it’s a poor way to judge a person. my fear is that if i never fit inside someone’s pre-determined box, i will be held accountable for it. i work out three times a week, i don’t drink, and i don’t smoke, i have no idea why the weight isn’t falling off because i eat healthy 80% of the time allowing myself the free day once a week (but i’m sticking with it). but i will be judged harder than the guy/girl who smokes 2 packs a day and drinks a bottle of gin at night because he/she is thin.
i agree that unhealthy people should be held accountable, but to assume everyone will fit perfectly into a height/weight box is ridiculous.
Aren’t we in the INSURANCE industry? Aren’t the INSURANCE rates based on tables of numbers? Isn’t the risk factor of the weight of a person factored into several insurance policies, such as life and health? What is there to argue about in this issue? Get on the tread mill, stop eating those donuts, and get in blankety-blank shape!!
I’m all for adding wellness to the benefits package and for launching wellness initiatives in the workplace. The better you treat your employees the more likely you are to attract and retain good employees.
With that out of the way I wonder how they judged the cost of obesity. There are a number of conflicting studies out there regarding the cost of obesity to America and to business. I think we tend to focus on one issue and exclude any other causal factors. For instance, did they factor for obese smokers? Heavy drinkers (pun intended)? Risky behaviors? Family history? There are too many things that go into this for me to blindly accept that obesity along costs $45B a year.
But whatever the cost, it’s still worth helping people stay in shape and stay healthy. I’d just rather we didn’t try to mess it all up by throwing out numbers that may mean nothing.
according to the BMI charts I am substantially overweight. However I also run an average of 4 miles per day, my cholesterol levels, blood pressure and heart rate are all great. I’m fat, but fit. The government BMI charts are not a good indicator if someone is really overweight or not. While I agree there are lots of overweight people in the US, using the BMI as a measure is not valid.
That is very true. If I remember correctly Europe doesn’t use the BMI. There are at least three different BMI calculations in the U.S. and none of them account for body-type. I’m much more a fan of looking at body composition (through calipers or even better through displacement testing) and overall fitness. If you’re heart, lungs and everything else is good, that’s all that really matters.
good point Mr. Lastbat. As a female and a Muslim and an American, I often wonder how I am considered for polling data. Having said that, people need to eat healthier in our country. In my birthland you do not see men in 40 inch waist pants with a Big Mac hanging out of their mouths.
I also am an overweight, obese if you will, person. I am completely healthy and have physicals every year. Why should my pants size matter to an employer? Years ago (150+) large people were thought to be health & wealthy, that changed with the whims of society. Why should I be punished by having an employer nosing around in my life, just because I am larger than society says I should be. I am completely happy with who I am. Also, if I was the weight that the BMI says I should be, I would look anorexic; would the employers say anything then?
I wonder if it is the stress occuring in the work place that is driving people to eat? If so, companies would be wise to address the cause,(stress)instead of the effects, (obesity)..!!
Wondering, you are dead on!! I notice myself sitting at a desk all day tending to munch on snacks (vending machine types). However, on the weekends I tend to not snack as I’m busy doing yard work or whatever. My friends who work in construction are all perfect weight, while I’ve gained some. Age has something to do with it, but I think mostly the stress of the job and not moving around to get rid of the fat.
With America on the way toward a recession and us already being overworked per employee, I don’t see my company hiring anyone to help with our workload and reduce our stress. They do have a staff of people that send us worthless emails on how we should exercise and eat right…Blah blah blah. Fire them and hire some help for us in the trenches!
I am not one of the skinny minnies to say the least, and I’m sure that the BMI charts would say I am obese. But oddly, I am rarely ever sick. But as for the size 4 chick down the office corridor… she seems to be more sickly than most. She is always complaining, feeling ill, out sick, coming down with something, visiting the doctor, coughing… etc. Perhaps she doesn’t eat enough to stay healthy? Can we get a number on them?
I would have a much better chance of exercising 30 minutes a day if I didn’t have to work so many hours. I agree that stress and work/life balance factor heavily (pun definitely intended!) into our health as a society.
The intent of the article was to say in general, people who would be considered overweight (by methods of BMI, body measurements, body fat analysis) tend to cost a company more than those who are not considered overweight. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule, but overall I believe this is true. And don’t blame it on stress, or on family, or on work, or on the vending machines down the hall, or on the fast food joints on your ride home, or “this is just how my family is”. In the Insurance Journal, we are very quick to point out that no one takes responsibility for their actions anymore. Here is a great opportunity to do just that!
I really appreciate these intelligent postings – so far people are really on their A-thinking game today. I agree with Fatima – I think people from other countries wonder what is Americans’ problem? As some have stated it really is a multitude of factors. The stress, sitting at your desk has really been shown to increase your size hence you need to move but if you do then you’re a social butterfly (yes I have been told this!), etc. I am considered obese also but if I am out “sick” then I really stayed at home to catch that early morning gym class I’ve been wanting to and spend the rest of the day running errands and catching up on Judge Judy. My cholesterol is the same if not better than my more “fit” siblings, thank God. I believe some people literally eat themselves to death but pinpointing a group and making them all out to be the company “deadweights” and drains on resources will lead to a very slippery slope. What if your employer finds out your a swinger or a “dancer” (i.e. naked dance floor technician)? Are those people going to be charged more for their risky behavior? No – because those things can easily stay hidden and being “fat” is obvious. There are skinny people with cholesterol levels over 200 – 300 and they too would be “high-risk”. Are they going to be targets too?
People can make fun of overweight / obese people but everyone has skeletons medical or otherwise that some people would consider risky so don’t think you too can come under the miscroscope of your employer. If there is anyway they can weed out certain people then obesity is just one thing they can do.
Anyway there was one morning show where this syndicated talk show host offered almost $20K to his body guard to lose almost 100 pounds and he reached the goal.
Now that’s what I call incentive!
Excellent comments, all of you. Thoughtful and well said.
Blondie has a good poing about thin people who are sickly. How much do they cost employers? Or has anyone ever bothered to check?
I think obesity is singled out because we can see it, it’s obvious… therefore easy. If someone is a smoker, drug addict, or heavy drinker, those things are easier to conceal.
As far as employers seeking “treatments” for their obese employees, hold your horses. There have been studies on how some diets and types of dieting are actually quite hard on one’s health. To change one’s weight is to change one’s lifestyle completely.
I’m definitely in the “more to love” category and having grown up in the Kate Moss era, I was bombarded with messages from the media and society about how I was supposed to hate myself for being bigger than average. My response was to crash diet, take pills, starve, compuslively exercise for weeks then crash from being malnourished. Think that did much for my health?
Enough with the madness! I don’t have to hate myself or the way I look. I’ve grown to love the fact that I have a Rubenesque shape.
These days, I eat smart and take it easy on the refined carbs, sugar, and saturated fats. I walk a couple miles a night 3 to 4 nights a week. I get good sleep, I don’t smoke, I drink a lot of water and y’know what? I’m still big. But I feel super. I rarely miss work and I visit my doctor maybe 2 or 3 times in a year.
Tell me how I’m costing my employer so bloody much money… Yet, just because someone can LOOK at me and see I’m big, I’m going to get lumped into the “unhealthy” category? Not fair. Not by any means, especially when there’s a size 6 next to me who smokes like a steam engine and calls in sick every other week.
Dear employer, mind your own business. If you think health care costs too much, don’t look at me. I didn’t set the price…
If you make exercise a priority in your life, good things will happen. Stop blaming others.
Joey and Frankie,
Are you two brothers? You sound like it. Twin idiots.
If you cant fit in your cubical your to fat!
Slim Shady,
Do us all a favor and use correct English and spellcheck. It really works! Try it.
Looks like we have triplets!
Slim; you need to gain some brain cells. Nice grammar.
An earlier post mentioned this as a perfect opportunity for people to take responsibility for themselves, and I think we’ve seen that. KLS says she’s moving more, eating right, larger than society says is normal, but is healthy. There was another poster that noted they gained weight because they eat from the vending machine. Sounds like we know where our issues are.
And the issue really is – who is costing more? It’s the people who call in sick and the people who constantly go to the doctor. While obesity, like smoking and drinking, can be a predicator of future health problems employers do need to look at who is actually costing them money and deal with that. If employers hold employees to their attendance and productivity policies they won’t have to worry if they’re a 30″ waist or a 40″ waist.
AT least slim is not FAT!!!
Must you always refer to Allah or being Muslim in your posts? Nobody cares. What is your point in doing this?
Put down the soda! You are holding down the economy!
My philosophy has always been that you’re only given one body, so you better take care of it. There was a study I saw a few months ago that said the overall health costs of obese people are less than non-obese people because of the shorter lifespans and other factors.
David,
That would make sense in some cases but still it’s a slippery slope and what happens once you “eradicate” this group – who’s next?
I’m glad to see this many of us being able to discuss rather than bash. Some people attack me because I am Muslim
That would be a shame, especially since Muslims have never attacked Americans.
But you say those things in your posts to get a response, which I certainly enjoy reading! Thanks for the laughs!
We’re idiots because we ask people to take responsibility for their actions? Or lack thereof? My bad. What was I thinking?!?!?! I think I’m gonna pack on some pounds and then sue Burger King because they made their food so yummy and irresistable. Wait, have I heard that somewhere before?
Who’s next?
Smokers. Drinkers. People not in monogomous relationships. Non-married people. People without children. People with genetic predispositions to certain ailments. People who enjoy extreme sports. People who play the stock market. In that order.
This isn’t sounding as funny as it did in my head, but maybe that’s just me.
I thought we were having an adult conversation about healthcare costs. Dubya, you’re the one responsible for slashing money to cover health care and you’re not in favor of universal health care. As a “C” student you’ve made us a stench to Muslims, Jews, and over half of the civilized world.
Remember it was America that educated Saddam Hussein and the FBI trained Osama Bin Laden.
Just a thought.
This is making me Hungry!
Lastbat,
Don’t sleep. It really could come to that. Big brother is always watching – your weight (SMILE). I get pissed that I have to pay property taxes some of which goes to schoolchildren. I don’t have any children yet so can I get my money back?
I just read a publication citing $600 billion annually in medical costs for sports related injuries and death and that figure does not include lost productivity and wages for the employer.
Seems to me all those “healthy exercisers” cost more money than the couch potatoes. Maybe employers should consider those cost and discourage exercise to save on the bottom line too?
My last employer did have a lot more skiing and soccer related injuries than fat related injuries.
How much of that $600 billion is highschool and collegiate athletics vs. weekend warrior activities?
Try to fit down, I mean fit into your cubicle! Fat is bad not good, can we agree on that?
That number (for children 14 and under – don’t forget older teens have jobs too) is estimated at over $74 Billion… that leaves $526 billion for us adults. Sport injuries to those over the age of 65 was estimated at $516 million in 1999, (we’ll bump that up to a nice $1 billion today) that leaves $525 billion…
Are we going to trim the fat off this number a bit more or just get to the point. Add up a bunch of numbers and you get a even bigger number that you can critique all you want… obesity, sports, drinkers, smokers, blondes… who is next?
I think the advantages of an athletic lifestyle far outweigh the risk of potential injury. And since you are making comparisons to the risks associated with smoking and drinking, please tell me what the benefits of those two activities are?
Thanks for the info, Blondie. Maybe Slim will shut up. How do we know he’s not fat or used to be? If a person cannot fit into their cubicle – that’s a small number of large people and most of them are on the show “Big Medicine” and/or collecting disability benefits and therefore not able to work. Slim, please get a clue or get off IJ!
Why dont you have a can of slim fast?
Hi, Fatima,
Some people attack me too for being a Quaker. I wish there were a CE class on Tolerance!
From a risk/reward standpoint it is arguable that the rewards of an athletic lifestyle outweigh the benefits – especially given the frequency of injury and potential severity involved in athletics.
I did some browsing and found this articles – http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/0123-common-sports-injuries.htm that essentially says sports hurt a lot of participants. It merits further study for those interested in athletics.
As for the benefits of smoking – you’ve got decreased stress, leading to fewer stress related syndromes. Same thing with drinking. I’m not advocating either, but those are the benefits. Drinking in moderation has also been recently connected in some studies to better overall health. So far the only benefit to smoking is avoiding the stress of nicotine fits (I’m not a smoker, I’m just throwing something out here).
I just checked the CDC’s website for obesity trends and measurement tools. CDC’s measure is Body Mass Index (BMI), which is what the Conference Board’s report uses.
Problem is, the BMI’s relationship between height and weight is linear, instead of cubic. Think about it: if you are 20% taller–say 72 inches vs 60 inches–you should be 20% wider and 20% deeper if you maintain your proportions. Since weight is roughly a function of volume (a cubic function), someone 1.2 times the height of another should be expected to be 1.72 times the weight of the smaller person. (1.72 = 1.2 x 1.2 x 1.2) But the linear relationships of the BMI table do not align with this. As Americans have gotten taller, this linear-vs-exponential discrepancy throws more people into the “obese” category.
My conclusion: “granus cum salis.”
Why are they idiots? Is it just because you don’t like what they say? Did it hurt your little feelings? Everyone has had excellent points up to your anonymous post. If you have feelings of inadequacy please don’t project them upon others, go see a therapist instead.
Why bring your bigotry and xenophobia to the table? So what if Fatima discussed being a Muslim. Why all your hate?
The original question was why did fatima feel the need to bring it to the discussion. She brought it up and has nothing to do with the topic at hand.
She could have easily have made her point about 30 inch vs 40 in waists and big mac attacks without having to mention that she is muslim.
Is she looking for the persecution so she can point and say “look they are don’t like me cause i’m (fill in the blank here)!”
Blondie has the best comment so far although I tired of reading them & skipped a few. Besides WGASA? How about Sumo wrestlers? They are among the healthiest athletes.
What is the next physical characteristic or life habit that these companies will choose to target? A company here in Michigan started the trend of not hiring and even firing smokers. Will we all have to be blond, blue-eyed little ethnic nazis? Slippery slope for sure.
there are those of us that are genetically disposed to not look like Kate Moss (thankfully) and i think it’s those of that fit into that range where we are bigger but healthy and active that fear the extremists will come in and say we can’t work anymore even though we may be healthier than a thin person who drinks/smokes excessively.
BMI Index charts, the size chart on the back of a pair of pantyhose, etc….are all fine and good, but it’s a poor way to judge a person. my fear is that if i never fit inside someone’s pre-determined box, i will be held accountable for it. i work out three times a week, i don’t drink, and i don’t smoke, i have no idea why the weight isn’t falling off because i eat healthy 80% of the time allowing myself the free day once a week (but i’m sticking with it). but i will be judged harder than the guy/girl who smokes 2 packs a day and drinks a bottle of gin at night because he/she is thin.
i agree that unhealthy people should be held accountable, but to assume everyone will fit perfectly into a height/weight box is ridiculous.
Aren’t we in the INSURANCE industry? Aren’t the INSURANCE rates based on tables of numbers? Isn’t the risk factor of the weight of a person factored into several insurance policies, such as life and health? What is there to argue about in this issue? Get on the tread mill, stop eating those donuts, and get in blankety-blank shape!!