weight loss and ridicule

This morning's topic is sensitive and almost brings us back to our childhood when we witnessed the cruelty of children to each other based on physical issues. Being "made fun of" whether it be acne lesions, stuttering, weight issues or other physical characteristics was a horrible experience that many children experienced growing up.

In the newspaper yesterday, I was reading about a controversy up in New Jersey involving an overweight candidate for Governor. The article descibed a situation in which the incumbent Governor was running ads discussing how his opponent is "throwing his weight around" on various issues. Clearly, the message wan't just using the expression to imply that the candidate is being persistent on issues, but in fact was also ridiculing his obesity.

Being overweight or not should not at all affect the job performance of a politician. Playing running back for the GIants may be affected by weight issues, but the jobs that most of us have, including a Governor position, do not rely on us having a certain BMI.

What this episode does show however, is that there is a subtle "prejudice" against overweight people on the workplace, as the ads are implying that if someone cannot control their own weight , how can they be expected to control issues at work that are of importance? These ads are trying to turn votes against the candidate because of his weight.

One of my motivations for not being overweight is, in fact, "professional" in that by running a weight loss program, my credibilty would be diminished if I was overweight. Nost people's occupations are not healthcare and therefore "credibility" is not lost by being overweight. However, is there a subtle prejudice at any work place? Are promotions adversely affected? Is being hired to a new job adversely affected because of physical appearance? I am interested in tyour comments.