Obesity Discrimination

In modern times we live in a world in which several factors such as stress and poor nutrition caused by foods rich in fat, leading people down a path that threatens the ideal fitness and healthy living. For that reason, it is usual to find people almost everywhere thick or city of the first world countries or developed countries. Obese people not only suffer the physical consequences of their fat, they are also stereotyped by most people as people slow, vague, unable and even frustrated. This type of thinking causes a reaction against the fat lacerating it is very common that obese people are far away or isolated in one form or another of social life.

It is undeniable that an obese person is much more common to find difficulty in performing certain types of activities with the speed and ease with which someone else would thin but is that reason enough to keep a person away from certain types obese work or social life in general?

Put this way, obesity not only causes great difficulty walking, playing some kind of sports, do activities requiring physical exertion and even breathe easily. Obese people can and are suffering much more than the obvious physical problems because of their status, are being discriminated against.

According to Sauchenco Gerez (2010), one of the most common places where people are discriminated against overweight you are the workplace. Usually those who are obese are not taken into consideration for certain types of work such as care customer, marketing image or that type of job where performance depends largely on the dynamics of the worker. This situation is caused not only by the speed limit and typical movements of overweight people, but because of the physical appearance of the individual in question which is not compatible with the image and the message the company wants to project.

Mentioned so far are not the only reasons for employers to keep away the fat of their companies. There are other reasons and one of them has monetary connotation.

An article published in Scope (2008), arrojoo very interesting data regarding the cost of obesity among employees for companies that employ them. These data do not refer to special accommodations and costs but refers only to the health care costs for obese workers.

Employees who are obese cost the private sector employers in the United States around 45 billion dollars annually in medical expenses and lost work days, according to a report of "The Conference Board." In this report, such data may be highly relevant to obesity and the cost to employers:

"Obesity is associated with 36% of the increase in service charges cuiado to health, rather than the problems associated with addiction to cigarettes and alcohol. More than 40% of U.S. companies have implemented programs reducing obesity and another 24% plan to do the same.

The jury is still debating the costs and benefits they pay for weight loss surgery to obese employees. Meanwhile, about 9% of the country's workforce is medically eligible for bariatric surgery "(H & HM, 2008)



Although there is legal protection against other types of discrimination such as race, sexual orientation, gender, national origin, age, religion and disability, yet there is no actual law that protects people from being discriminated against because of their body weight . (Stam, 2007)

According to Stamen (2007), the act of Americans with physical disabilities, ADA for its acronym in English, provides protection against discrimination for people with any disability or physical disability if the person meets the definition disabled individual who observes the ADA.

Not every disease is considered a disability under the ADA. To qualify for disability, the worker must show a physical or mental inefficiency which substantially limits one or more major life activities, you should be aware of that inefficiency or have been considered as one having such an impairment. (Bagley and Savage, p. 490)

According to the commission of equal opportunity for employment, EEOC for its acronym in English, being an obese person is not a disability or is a mental or physical inefficiency. But severe obesity (weight greater than 100% of normal) is without doubt a clear physical disability. (Stam, 2007)

As is known, and obesity can cause disorders such as thyroid and hypertension are considered as physiological disorders, and a physiological disorder is considered a disability or impairment (Fair Employment Practice Guidelines), should then be considered obese also an impairment or disability ?

The Americans with Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) legislation is probably the most significant civil rights since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Rubin 1993) In accordance with ADA: Aims and purposes, ADA was the world's first declaration of equality for people with disabilities. It was a collaborative effort between Democrats and Republicans, the legislative and executive branch, state and federal agencies, and persons with and without disabling conditions. ADA reflects a recognition that the path of the strength and vitality of the American nation is through the full realization and contribution of all its citizens.

But ADA does not consider obesity as a disability and therefore does not protect obese people under their statutes. While most American companies have in the employee handbook, under Human Resources, topics relating to special accommodations "Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - Reasonable Accommodations" is not not easy to find any topic that protect obese people from being discriminated because of their overweight.



On the other hand there are people who consider obesity as a lifestyle or a personal choice. Ome believe that obesity is not a condition beyond the control of the subject personnel in question and therefore it is a personal choice to be obese or not. There is even a Facebook page called "Obesity it's not a heatsink, it's a way of life!"

While it is true that some individuals have physiological problems that make them gain weight easily, it is also true that there are plenty of ways to combat obesity. Diets, healthy food, exercise, therapy and more are some of the things that help combat this physical condition. Many people eat without limits, others simply do not make any kind of exercise that can help them stay fit. Most overweight people prefer not to be, but they do nothing or almost nothing about it. These people often feel out of the prevailing social system and suffer from depressive states that only contributes to food anxiety. Consequently these people are doing the same thing that put them in a state of overweight and away more and more to get the remedy and solution to the problem.

As Sauchenco Gerez suggests in his article, it is well accepted as is and gradually work in terms of being better and out of whatever problem you are. For those people with self-esteem, those who believe they are apart from others by their color, language, body weight or other physical, it's time they know that no one is superior or inferior to another.

It is terrible to think that even today some people are discriminated against but the world it is. That's why you should not sit around waiting for others to do something, each person must do whatever it takes to become someone better and live a better life. For those who see different people as poor, it's time to wake up and understand that the world is a mixture of different colors, genders, orientation, religion, ways of speaking, tastes, beliefs, cultures, abilities, and of course different ways and body sizes, but all we are the world in which we live.



r.a.

2011

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