bad jane

i'm interested in knowing how he determined that all these obese people are simply lazy and unhealthy.

i think it is great that he offers gym vouchers (my company does the same and lots of people take advantage of that). bonuses to those who take off weight is also great--but a bit unfair to those who have no weight to lose if you ask me.

but not all people who are obese are fat and lazy slobs. there are medical conditions that cause weight gain. one of my co-workers is obese, she has hypothyroidism. is it really fair to fire her for something beyond her control? i'm not aware of any exemptions that protect our employer for being charged more based on her weight since it is based on a medical condition. another co-worker gained a significant amount of weight due to some meds she had to take--so would it be ok to fire her even though her weight gain is a result of medical treatment? i mean, fat is fat, right?

even if you agreed that there should be excemptions for people with medical conditions--anyone who wished to take advantage of that would then have to give up confidential health information. that info is confidential and forcing someone to provide it in order to keep their job really doesn't sound like a good plan to me.

imo, this is a hell of a lot worse than firing the smokers (though i didn't agree with that either).

*edit* i forgot to even consider women who get pregnant...many women keep quite a bit of their pregnancy weight. you could say they should be more careful of exercise and what they eat during pregnancy--but try telling that to some poor woman who's just spent the last 6 months on bedrest due to complications with pregnancy. my best friend gained quite a bit with one of her kids (and it took her more than a year to get it all off) because she spent the last 4 1/2 months of her pregnancy in the hospital, on bedrest. flat on your back for several months isn't exactly the best way to go about getting in shape.