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by The Body Mass Index (BMI) is an general indicator of "fatness" calculated as a formula of height and weight. While proper health is an aspect of life generally under control of an individual, many lack the perseverance or due care which has resulted in an increasingly obese America. Unlike race or ethnicity, the common perception of weight control is that it is controllable and this has resulted in a growing sentiment of distaste for the obese trickling on the edges of discrimination. Studies into weight discrimination reveal that:
- discrimination against men begins with a BMI of 35
- women are discriminated against with a BMI of 27
- women with a BMI above 30 are three times more likely to be discriminated against than men
- weight discrimination is perceived as the third most common form of discrimination
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I am one of those people you would sneer at and make jokes
about. I offer no excuse for my obesity--I eat crap and I do not exercise. I am also quite intelligent,productive,and I have an excellent sense of humor. overall, I am reasonably pleasant to have around.
I will beat you to any jokes you could possibly think up-(i.e.--let's
gp to the all you can eat buffet restaurant for lunch and watch the owner freak out when the fat guy walks in) You would not want me on
the office relay race team but you will sure as hell want me on the team when we have to work late to meet a deadline. I will not race you
up the stairs but when you meet me at the elevator you will be glad to see me. as for all the jokes and snickers after I leave the room--
none of them will be due to my not being a highly valued member
of whatever team we have.
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Guilty as charged by romanizzo :: NR6 :: on 06 April 2008
I'm bad about this form of discrimination, actually. Rather than "generally," I'd say that with very few exceptions obesity is something you can control. Obesity and fitness, then, are a prime indicator of not so much what a person looks like, but more an indicator of their personality and values. Pride, self respect, work ethic, even consideration for others - generally if you're horribly out of shape, I assume that those things might not be important to you, and you deserve to be sneered at.
RE: Guilty as charged by Bortnyk :: NR6 :: on 06 April 2008
I have to agree with Izzo; I don't anyone would be suprised to find out that things like soda, sugars, fried foods, etc will increase your chances of gaining weight. I would go so far as to say that that is as common knowledge as cigarettes being bad for you. A brisk walk in the morning and not eating garbage can be the difference between being reasonably trim and lugging about a grandiose backside. I tend to think of obese people as lacking in self disclipline. At work my first reaction is to think that a lack of self discipline in your personal life will translate into being not so useful around the office.
As a caviat, I'm talking about a pot belly from a busy couple of months and no time for excercise, or even winter weight for my brothers and sisters in the frozen north. I'm talking about Jack Black or Chris Farley style fat asses.