Lending heft to an anti-bias campaign

Stop the insanity!!! We continue to encourage the victim mentality in the U.S. Being overweight is a self-inflicted situation and should not be protected by law. No one wants to hear this. But as long as we continue to nurture a victim mentality few people will be encouraged to help themselves and adopt a healty lifestyle. Let's spend our time, money and energy on promoting healthy nutrition and exercise and give incentives to adopt a healthy lifestyle. And as for the employment discrimination, let's talk. Everyone one of us who have had to search for a job can talk about the time when we were the perfect candidate (in our minds!). To this day I wonder if it was my hair, my makeup, my clothes, my age or my perfect size 4 that annoyed the person on the other side of the table - especially when the interviewer was a large woman. Yes, fat people everywhere, we thin people also feel the brunt of discrimination. We just don't have the same excuses to fall back on!

I think this issue will take care of itself without legislation. Due to energy costs and world competition, the cost of everything is going to skyrocket, epecially food. According to some newsmedia reports last week, there is s a looming world-wide food shortage. Therefore, people will loose weight because they won't be able to afford or find the food.

The credit for this solution should go to politicians such as those in Massachusets, who sponsor worthless, "feel good" legisilation such as that described in the article instead of addressing more important issues.

This is so ridiculus. So what if some people are fat some are too skinny too. BUt now we need a law for this - oh brother - but our politicians have no problem taking money from all the fast food corps. which is one or more on every street corner in america. I have a young teen daughter who wants to loose 15 pounds, which she can not afford to loose, because of stupid people who now have to judge everyone and everything.Disgusting

FAT behind as a protected class? Watch how this allowance of being fat is going to impact these new national health care plans. Absolutely in no way should those who try have to pay for those who, more often than not, make the decision to be gluttons or not care enough about their own health to take a few extra steps.

Obesity is not a legislative issue any more than being being short/tall, younger or older. Here's the key difference; the majority of obese Americans don't live a healthy lifestyle, which they can chose to change if they so desired. I cannot change being short and getting older - that's the way it is. My co-worker is 35 years old and obese; she eats junk food every day, and rarely makes an effort to be active. Her excessive absenteeism is "excused" by the "disability" of migraine headaches. I'd say hauling around 75 extra pounds on your frame would cause anyone migraine headaches, not to mention the risk of developing diabetes and other ailments related to obesity. Not only do I have to pick up her slack as her co-worker, but my healthcare premiums are higher due to her making a trip to the doctor/chiropractor/massage therapist several times per month to treat her numerous "ailments". What is quite amusing to me is the fact that she can walk into any clothing store and find clothes that fit her off the rack. Me? Nope-and my weight falls within the normal range. What's this country coming to?

American Chick wrote:

This is so ridiculus. So what if some people are fat some are too skinny too. BUt now we need a law for this - oh brother - but our politicians have no problem taking money from all the fast food corps. which is one or more on every street corner in america. I have a young teen daughter who wants to loose 15 pounds, which she can not afford to loose, because of stupid people who now have to judge everyone and everything.Disgusting

I take it that you don't want your daughter to loose 15 pounds because you want her FAT like you.FAT is not healthy.

I lost a lot of weight after I got sick of looking in mirrors and at photo's of myself. It was not easy but I did it with surgery, I just stopped eating stupidly.
Excessive weight hurts your health more than smoking. Put warnings on refrigerators and on restaurant doors that excessive eating is a hazard to your health.
You did it with smoking. You even banned smoking in buildings in many states and cities. Being fat is not a right if smoking is not a right.

Pay as you weigh! Time for airlines and health insurance to charge by the pound.

Incredulous wrote:

Obesity is not a legislative issue any more than being being short/tall, younger or older. Here's the key difference; the majority of obese Americans don't live a healthy lifestyle, which they can chose to change if they so desired. I cannot change being short and getting older - that's the way it is. My co-worker is 35 years old and obese; she eats junk food every day, and rarely makes an effort to be active. Her excessive absenteeism is "excused" by the "disability" of migraine headaches. I'd say hauling around 75 extra pounds on your frame would cause anyone migraine headaches, not to mention the risk of developing diabetes and other ailments related to obesity. Not only do I have to pick up her slack as her co-worker, but my healthcare premiums are higher due to her making a trip to the doctor/chiropractor/massage therapist several times per month to treat her numerous "ailments". What is quite amusing to me is the fact that she can walk into any clothing store and find clothes that fit her off the rack. Me? Nope-and my weight falls within the normal range. What's this country coming to?

Gee, I hope that you don't develop any illnesses or diseases in spite of your 'fitness', so that others can complain about you. "Gee, so-and-so's cancer is driving up our health premiums". All of us pay into the healthcare system for people who make bad choices. Would you complain about paying for someone afflicted with HIV, hypertension or high cholesterol, even if they are not obese? By the way, I weigh 120 and get migraines. It has nothing to do with weight.

Another step downward for our country. Meanwhile China and India continue to pump out increasing numbers of hard-working laborers and highly educated engineers that are willing to work at a FRACTION of the wage we are willing to work at. These people do not feel entitled to anything, but are rather hungry to succeed and thankful for the opportunities to increase their standard of living. Our response is wonder our economy sucks... to complain about the jobs leaving the country and increasing gas/food/etc prices, instead of looking in the mirror at ourselves. We're slowly getting our **** es kicked. WE ARE THE PROBLEM. Wake up dammmit

Pat wrote:

FAT behind as a protected class? Watch how this allowance of being fat is going to impact these new national health care plans. Absolutely in no way should those who try have to pay for those who, more often than not, make the decision to be gluttons or not care enough about their own health to take a few extra steps.

What "new national health care plans" are you refering to? If you are talking about Medicare and Medicaid, you have already been paying for these (if you work of course). If you think you shouldn't have to pay for someone that doesn't try, then I say that we don't pay for someone who doesn't work because they don't want to. That will completely dismantle public aid! I would LOVE that!

Just a thought regarding the health care costs of obesity to society. Social Security and private pension benefit payouts may be lowered as we as a nation put on more weight. This is because obese people don’t live as long as everyone else. I've spent a lot of time visiting friends and relatives in nursing homes over the years and I never saw obese elders. It's all the skinny people who survive longer and this costs society money, too.

I wisj I had that gene that allowed my body to produce salories without eating. Wait! there isn't any such gene. Fact it that if you get fat you are eating too much and exercising to little. That is the fact that cannot be overlooked here, period.

Jim A wrote:

Just a thought regarding the health care costs of obesity to society. Social Security and private pension benefit payouts may be lowered as we as a nation put on more weight. This is because obese people don’t live as long as everyone else. I've spent a lot of time visiting friends and relatives in nursing homes over the years and I never saw obese elders. It's all the skinny people who survive longer and this costs society money, too.

The vast majority of a person;s health care costs are in the last months of their life. Dying young saves nothing for the obese since they use so much in the interim and then still run up a huge bill in dying. Fact, the obese expend as much as 3 times more than the healthy.

Being overweight or obese, like smoking, should not prevent anyone from getting a job unless their impinged on job performance. However employers, government agencies, and health programs should cease subsidizing this choice. There is not a enough heath care monies to cover this option. So overweight, obesity, smoking, and the refusal to exercise should be a personal choice but one that the paid for by the individual. Automakers could end their lament about high health care by charging employees for their CHOSEN life style.

Ella wrote:

<quoted text> Gee, I hope that you don't develop any illnesses or diseases in spite of your 'fitness', so that others can complain about you. "Gee, so-and-so's cancer is driving up our health premiums". All of us pay into the healthcare system for people who make bad choices. Would you complain about paying for someone afflicted with HIV, hypertension or high cholesterol, even if they are not obese? By the way, I weigh 120 and get migraines. It has nothing to do with weight.

It's all about choices, isn't it? I chose to live a healthy lifestyle, I chose to make intelligent choices concerning sex, etc. Although I sometimes fight with high cholesterol, I watch what I eat and continue to exercise and manage to keep it under control. My obese co-worker told me that her physician told her that carrying the extra pounds places stress on her joints and back, and is a contributing factor to her devleoping migraines...hence her frequent trips to the chiropractor and massage therapist.You reap what you sow, period.

Incredulous wrote:

Obesity is not a legislative issue any more than being being short/tall, younger or older. Here's the key difference; the majority of obese Americans don't live a healthy lifestyle, which they can chose to change if they so desired. I cannot change being short and getting older - that's the way it is. My co-worker is 35 years old and obese; she eats junk food every day, and rarely makes an effort to be active. Her excessive absenteeism is "excused" by the "disability" of migraine headaches. I'd say hauling around 75 extra pounds on your frame would cause anyone migraine headaches, not to mention the risk of developing diabetes and other ailments related to obesity. Not only do I have to pick up her slack as her co-worker, but my healthcare premiums are higher due to her making a trip to the doctor/chiropractor/massage therapist several times per month to treat her numerous "ailments". What is quite amusing to me is the fact that she can walk into any clothing store and find clothes that fit her off the rack. Me? Nope-and my weight falls within the normal range. What's this country coming to?

Incredulous - You are precisely the reason this legislation is being considered. I have many sizes of employees and I see no relationship between being a hard worker and weight. I'm sure you know plenty of thin people who don't put in an honest day of work and if you had an overweight employee you would treat them different and assume that they don't work as hard.

So you are "normal sized" and you can't buy clothes off the rack? That's a good one!!! How many overweight people that you see have clothes that fit them perfectly??? There are also a lot fewer places to buy clothes in larger sizes. Just walk around any mall.

As it is legal to not hire smokers based on the idea that they cost more to insure it certainly should not be illegal for an employer to not hire obese candidates using the same rational--this of course would also apply to other groups of persons whose insurance costs are prohibitive.

If people want to legally protect an unhealthy lifestyle that drains our health care resources like obesity, then shut up about smoking. At least smoking is taxed, thus putting money back into the system. What are the obese doing for us?

Reality wrote:

Pay as you weigh! Time for airlines and health insurance to charge by the pound.

I second the motion! My 55-pound bag runs me an extra $75, then I'm squished up against a person with no self-control that tips the scales at 250+. I pay extra & only get three-fourths of my seat!