That fattist discrimination is allowed in the workplace?

[SortedwishIwas]

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/24/fattist-discrimination-should-be-outlawed-in-the-workplace-says/

Just read this article and it says it is not illegal to discriminate against overweight people.

Yet fat people are protected only if they can prove they are also disabled

from the article. So it is seems to be ok to discriminate against someone who is fat but not if they are fat and disabled?

This is worrying though but a separate issue from the same article

New forecasts show that obesity will soon be more common than being a normal weight.The figures from Cancer Research UK show on current trends, almost three in four adults will be overweight or obese by 2035.

not much you can do about that if it's your body shape

Visceral fat has nothing to do with your shape. You can look slim but have a lot of visceral fat stuck to your organs

Anyway I'd rather die of a heart attack in my 70s than linger on until my 90s in an underfunded care home

Nobody gets to choose

A lot of people are having heart attacks at a younger and younger age

Controlling your weight is primarily about deciding to eat less.

I have been everything from a size 8 to 20. I'm on my way back down again at size 16 and on the cusp of not being obese any more (yay!).

I am no different a person in terms of work ethos when I am skinny or fat. I have had fewer sick days than any of my colleagues (especially the Uber fit thin snow boarder who has come a cropper a couple of times). Of course not all thin people have more sick leave than fat people. We are just saying that you can't assume job effectiveness from size alone.

Humans tend to look down on other groups of humans. It makes us feel better about ourselves.

I clearly have issues with food. Im working on them abd learning about myself doing so. This does not make me a better or worse person than a thin person. And outside of a certain few jobs, it does not make me better or worse at a job than a thin person.

Those of you who are a normal weight and look down on overweight people may have a bit of thinking to do about the many ways you could be a better/more productive/less wasteful person. As none of us are perfect. Concentrate on improving your own flaws. Compare the person you are today with the one you were yesterday and the one you will be tomorrow, rather than comparing yourself to your neighbour. One approach leads to long term fulfilment, the other to temporary smugness and then more loathing (of self and others).

And i do not think being fat should be a protected characteristic. But anyone making assumptions about another person based solely upon their weight should really think long and hard about where they got such prejudices from

But anyone making assumptions about another person based solely upon their weight should really think long and hard about where they got such prejudices from

They are everywhere from media and society. People around us. I was watching some comedy shows from the nineties, and fat people were ridiculed and mocked

Having been fat and slim, I definitely get treated better when I am slim. Better customer service, spoken to more politely, treated better.

some people's bodies have found a way to create energy from nothing
Sorry, but while I'm no medic that sounds very unlikely. Do you have any
links which show it to be the case?
Puzzledandpissedoff, why do you think the was there?
SARCASM ALERT!! SARCASM ALERT!! SARCASM ALERT!!
(Since you don't seem to have noticed.)

Duuhhh - sorry, Iona; I genuinely missed that one

I have already said I am classed as morbidly obese. I work in the NHS, manage 12 hour shifts, carry equipment etc. I have not had one sick day in over 2 years. I can manage an 8 mile walk. Not sure quite what I am trying to say but too many assumptions are made about overweight people and generalisation is not helpful

That's fascinating pomegranate They did seem a very conforming nation (the Japanese)

DD1 is 13 and 6'1". She eats constantly and is slim, as is her sister. My son is a healthy BMI but 98th centile for height and weight and will prob have to watch his weight if he becomes less active. Metabolism makes a big difference.
What I am trying to say is that overweight people are not all greedy. In our family we all eat a similar amount and to lose weight I would need to eat less.

Metabolism is an interesting thing. Several studies show that people who have lost a lot of weight have slower metabolism, or more accurately, re-gain fat on less calories than people who have never lost weight.

There are other factors that determine likely hood of being "fat" vs. "thin", namely frame size and how easily people gain muscle vs. fat. Some people gain muscle and or fat easier than others, especially those with large frames. People with smaller frames tend to have a harder time. While the whole mesomorph, ectomorph, endomorph thing is problematic it does have some elements of truth to it.

But assuming a person with a large frame who looks "fatter" than a person with a petite frame who looks thin is unhealthy is wrong. Lots of people with petite frames who think they are thin are carrying around a lot of visceral fat. Whereas larger framed people are carrying around more muscle.

BMI is only good as a population wide measure (and barely at that), it breaks down hugely at the individual level.

I have already said I am classed as morbidly obese. I work in the NHS, manage 12 hour shifts, carry equipment etc. I have not had one sick day in over 2 years

That's great but a pp mentioned a study where the obese have a higher rate of sickness absence.

"vdbfamily

I have already said I am classed as morbidly obese. I work in the NHS, manage 12 hour shifts, carry equipment etc. I have not had one sick day in over 2 years. I can manage an 8 mile walk. Not sure quite what I am trying to say but too many assumptions are made about overweight people and generalisation is not helpful"

I don't think being obese - or even overweight - if you work in the NHS, or in a similar workplace, is acceptable. How can overweight doctors and nurses tell other people to lose weight if they themselves are overweight or obese? No one will ever convince me that being obese is healthy.

Rocket science it ain't.

*I don't think being obese - or even overweight - if you work in the NHS, or in a similar workplace, is acceptable. How can overweight doctors and nurses tell other people to lose weight if they themselves are overweight or obese? No one will ever convince me that being obese is healthy.

Rocket science it ain't.*

Doctors and nurses are human beings too, and ones that generally work long stressful hours. There's also a difference between knowing something is "medically" better for you, and actually doing it. Lots of doctors and nurses smoke and drink as well, would you expect them to not do that?

And no, it's not rocket science, it's medical science. Pretty different fields. Frankly, I think rocket science is easier.

Is there a list of what medical conditions fall into the category for 'disabled'?

I only ask, because this list of conditions : lists obesity.

Oblomov to answer your question- under employment legislation (which is what the OP is referring to) the only health conditions which are automatically classed as a disability are HIV, cancer and MS. Other health conditions may or may not be covered depending on whether they have a significant and long term impact on daily activities. In these cases, it's not the condition itself but how it impacts on daily activities that's the key.

Thank you Cloud. I suspected as much.

Cara, do you enjoy yourself on MN? Genuine question.

I would imagine that it is the shift work in the NHS which is a killer and makes maintaining a health weight harder.

MissStressBum Hi- I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis. The majority of women with PCOS are not disabled but some are by the complications caused by the illness if severe. I was diagnosed aged 21, with severe PCOS, emphasis on severe- one of worst cases my endo had seen- having suffered since age 18. Symptoms I had included extremely heavy periods, so much pain I couldn't get out of bed, fatigue, PMS/PMDD, violent, suicidal, self harming mood swings, migraines, underactive thyroid, Vit D deficiency, Sleep Apnea, uncontrollable food cravings (Binge Eating and Bulimia disorders are very highly represented amongst the PCOS community) acne , facial hair which I couldn't wax or use cream on because of allergies I have always had (I'm an eczema sufferer- since age 2), and a huge bloated belly, lipedema (fluid retention) obesity. I was always a chunky pear shape but with PCOS onset I developed a big apple shaped belly.

Could it be a disability? For myself, I do not know because I am regsitered disabled anyway- ME/CFS since age 14, and a neuromuscular disease. Already had mental health issues (anxiety, self harm, extreme anger, BPD, OCD, C- PTSD) prior to PCOS. My poor parents were relieved when i was diagnosed PCOS because PCOS and MH issues can often be linked so they were like "now we know why you are crazy- it is your hormones!". I can't say ALL my MH issues were PCOS related- too many other factors eg bullying and sexual assault at early age) but I have read research papers saying that borderline PD and Bipolar and Depression are extremely overrepresented in the PCOS diagnosed community. I don't think that is a coincidence. I can tell you that antipsychotic medication certainly can make PCOS symptoms worse. Genetically I am from a typical PCOS family- Jewish, (and some Romani) heritage etc and my sister has been told she may have the mild type. Not obese or unwell but hairy, bad periods, mood swings etc.
I reckon that before my PCOS was medicated and controlled , if I wasn't already disabled, that I would have been considered disabled and on ESA (or Incapacity as it was called then) because of the extreme periods, headaches, fatigue and mood swings. I would not be considered employable when 3 weeks out of every month I was curled up in a foetal position, bleeding and fighting urges to stab people/kill myself. Just my thoughts anyway. Please don't read this and panic. My experience is more severe than most and having ME/CFS and MH issues treated by olanzapine, thorazine, depakote, etc may well have exacerbated the PCOS making it an "extreme case." My actual testosterone levels were only slightly above average- I had to fight to get sent to an Endocrinologist because my GP said "but your testosterone is only a bit elevated!!!"

MissSressBum please don't panic. As i said, my experience is not the majority of women with PCOS. But I want people on here to understand that it isn't just being a little fat and hairy etc but can cause very debilitating side affects IF NOT CONTROLLED. Oh and did i mention boils in my armpits and groin because my insulin levels were so out of whack and cystic acne on my back? Also excess sweating and almost menopausal symptoms (until i found a Progesterone Only pill that actually worked). I got called ugly a lot in my teens and 20s because of my PCOS symptoms. What kind of employer would want someone who always had to change their clothes/ smelled if she wasn't able to, in spite of going through several bottles of deodorant a month and covering herself with body spray???

I don't believe obesity needs to be a protected characteristic like race. But I do wish the attitude towards fat people would change. I wish people would remember that fat people are just like other people- we are just bigger. Yes, more prone to certain health issues. Just as many other groups in society are. That doesn't make us less than human. Society has always needed scapegoats. It used to be paedophiles, heroin addicts, the homeless, single mothers (further back in history, witches etc) Now it is fat people. Or Brexiters!

herbluebiro has written exactly what I wanted to write (but has put it across in a much better way).

I am fat. I am currently a size 24. Doesn't make me work any less hard. In my entire working history (15 years) I have taken 3 days off sick. I am bloody good at my job.

NotStoppedAllDay I don't believe over eating is an addiction. If so, they would eat anything Actually some people with extreme binge eating issues will eat food that has been in the rubbish or been on the floor etc. I agree that not all fat people suffer with EDs though. Also if overeating wasn't an addiction, why are there 12 Steps groups for it? Last time I checked there were several: FAA, (Food Addicts Anon), FA (Food Addicts in Recovery Anon), OA (Overeaters Anon), ABA (Anorexia and Bulimia Anon) and something called SMART Recovery. Even DBT therapy. which at one stage was only used for personality disorders or self harming is being geared towards Binge Eating disorders, although I think NHS only does it for personality disorders. But in the US you can get it for BED/disordered eating.

NotStoppedAllDay I actually knew someone who grew up to have an ED ( she also had PCOS/thyroid interestingly enough) and is quite hefty. She told me once that as a young child (her issues started young) she would chew bits of paper, her own hair etc. She describes having to have something in her mouth. No Prader Willi Disorder there (she doesn't have intellectual issues or low muscle tone) and certainly not as extreme as PWS but I can see a paralell. She said she was like a bottomless pit- always hungry. Would not only binge (and purge sometimes) in secret but also would have second or third helpings and then want a snack or 6 afterwards. Her parents were always telling her off for it, but she wasn't a spoiled kid as far as I can see and her sister and parents ate large-ish but not excessive portions and none of them binged. I definitely think she had a disorder of some kind even as a child. Sadly, it caught up with her and she got overweight when she hit puberty and still is. She is seeing a counsellor or something.

Well im sure you would be willing to wait longer in A and E or spend longer lying around in pain while the docs and nurses take the time to make themselves a healthy lunch Cara!

Shift work doesn't have to mean overeating and eating the wrong kind of food. I worked shifts for years and I prepared everything in advance and took it to work with me. It meant I only ate healthy stuff and also helped me saved money by not having to keep buying food.

I do think it is important for healthcare staff to take their own health and weight seriously.

I have spoken to lots of people who didn't take healthy eating advice seriously from the medical profession when they were fatter than the patient themselves.