It took a study to *measure* the difference.

This just opens the door to the people that are heavy, being discriminated against! I can see it coming, people that are heavy will not be hired by companies, even if they are more qualified than some loser, who just happens to be skinny. This smacks of discrimination, plain and simple. One thing is for sure, lawyers offices are going to be getting a lot busier very soon because of studies like this. All I know is, just let some insurance company tell me they won't insure me because of my weight, or a company won't hire me because I'm heavy, I can guarantee one thing, I will own that company after I get done suing them!

Really Fringe? You really think you are going to be able to PROVE discrimination based on your weight?

BTW, insurance companies can deny you coverage due to anything they see fit, or at least charge you a much higher premium due to your health.

A better course of action might be to get up off the couch and get some exercise, while at the same time eating a healthy diet. Instead of screaming discrimination, become an active participant in your own life and GET HEALTHY

Fringe, I once worked at a place with 2 bars, a lounge and a restaurant. One of the chefs was pushing close to 600 pounds, but still hired because he could cook. So not only was working around him in the kitchen difficult, when he was on break he would go sit at the bar, within 10 days to 2 weeks another bar stool would be broken. We ask him to take his breaks in the lounge where the couches could handle his girth, yet every time we still found him sitting at a bar stool. Now is this fair to the owner who was constantly having to pay to have the stools fixed or buy new ones.

Geez, what a bunch of narrow minded bigots. How about judging people for their actions and their demeanor? Not all fat people are jolly, trustworthy and make good employee or friend material...... but then again neither are all "normal weight" people or all "skinny" people!! This is no different than judging people for the color of their skin, their religion, or their sexual preference. While I agree being overweight is a condition that can lead to many illnesses, I do not agree with judging people by their weight. It would seem like a good name for you all would be "fatists" which is very similar to "facist", think about it.

There is little mystery as to how folks get fat. If one consumes more than one burns, fat is accumulated and weight is gained. Want to weigh less? Eat less. Gastric bypass surgery works, because the person is unable to eat much afterward (though over time that too can prove ineffective). Oh, and being fat is not healthy, and thinking such is not bigotry.

Gee, what a shocker.

Glad they were able to straighten this out for us. That sure is a load off.

Wow Tyler. Way to be the hall monitor. Kind of sensitive on the subject are we? I'm just sayin...

If obese people are taking off a lot of work, they aren't doing their job. If they aren't doing their job, they deserve to be fired. That's not discrimination. That's good business practices.

Matt from CA

Wow Tyler. Way to be the hall monitor. Kind of sensitive on the subject are we? I'm just sayin...

He's just doing his job. Personal attacks should not be tolerated.

This article is not a study, it is a press release with an agenda. Be careful what you believe about so-called "studies" in the news.

Body size and shape are not something to be determined by an outside commission. I once had to tell this story to my grandchildren:

People come in all different shapes and sizes so that all the games on Earth get played properly and thoroughly. Just like on our hands; we have a skinny, short fellow; two medium-sized regular guys, one tall ordinary one in the middle; and a short, fat one off to the side.

"Oh!", my grand-twins said, "Some people are thumbs!" :)

If obese people are taking off a lot of work, they aren't doing their job. If they aren't doing their job, they deserve to be fired. That's not discrimination. That's good business practices.

Well, not necessarily. If sick time is a benefit provided for by the company, and the employee avails him/herself of that benefit, it is not a firing offense. If, on the other hand, the employee goes beyond the alloted amount of sick time, yes, it can be a firing offense, assuming of course that the employee doesn't have a chronic health condition covered by FMLA.

All that said, though...I understand completely what you're saying. Healthier employees make for more productivity and higher morale (because coworkers aren't covering for their sick asses!)

This may be the case for *your* heavy people, but it is more interesting to find out if productivity correlates with health for *everyone's* heavy people.

I agree! In our workplace us tubbies are here and working while our "thin" people call out much more than we do! I am very round and I took 2 sick days last year! My diabities is well under control and doesn't cause me sick days, doesn't stop me from being a producer of work and then I help those "thin" folks get their work done!!

Shut up Fattie!

noneya - but ur diabetes costs us all money and we all have to pay when ur heart gives out early or u blow out your knees with the giant load you force them to endure. Fat is gross - just because there's so many of u these days doesn't make it ok.

noneya, you realize that if you focus on your diet and get down to a healthy weight that there's a strong chance your diabetes will no longer need to be controlled and that you can quite possible stop taking medication?

It's just gross that you'll let yourself be fat and unhealthy when it's entirely possible to fix what's wrong with yourself simply by developing a little bit of self control and self discipline.

CORRECT Vincent Denali... I can only go by employees and their work ethic as stated above! I will take my heavy people anyday of the week as they are on time. loyal, hard working and dependable......Wish I could say that for the other ones.. BUT again I say it has nothing to do with weight it is work ethic.... Research and claims can be made on any topic... I have one skinny boy who is a t the doctor 3 times a month whinning about something, look at all that money wasted.....

Right. Fat people are NEVER sick. LOL

When you are there. This story did not comment on how hard they work, just how often they MISS work.

I have found this to be very true. Of the few people I can count on to be absent when needed, two out of three are obese and the one that isn't is just lazy...

Way to go Homer!

A study could reveal that heavier people are more productive, but this study measured the number of days off taken by heavy people.

This would be interesting if it was your boss making the claim, but saying this about yourself isn't worth the virtual paper it's written on.

I'm chubby too AND...a women.

As a former sales/merchandiser for a soda company. I can assure you the all "boys" club where I worked was intimidate by my work habits too. I didn't take any more days off than they did, either. I worked my butt off and ended up getting promoted OVER them. They sure were peeved to find out I earned $5 dollars more an hour than they did and received $5000 more in my lay off package than they did...:-)

If a boss/employer is too stupid to see past 'what I look like', that's their loss...not mine. I've been very successful in EVERYTHING I've set my mind to.

Even we of extra poundage know the stats, but as you say, there are exceptions. I use perhaps 2 or 3 days of sick time a year. Yes...I should be a statistic, but my blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol and everything else is just fine, thank you. In my family obesity goes back at least five generations (according to the pics I have). However, we don't seem to contract the standard package of obesity related health problems. We just get fat, deaf and old as dirt.

Sheila, I'm glad that is the case for you. I think the problem comes in when people DO have problems and refuse to believe they could be weight related, preferring to blame it on something else or turning a blind eye.

I seriously hope that you wake up tomorrow 50 lbs overweight for making a statement like that. Who do you think you are?

Sorry that you're offended but nothing I said was offsensive at all. I'm sorry that you're taking this so personally but as an FYI.. I HAVE been overweight before and I struggle to maintain a healthy weight. So before you make ridiculous statements, think first! I'm don't mind a heated discussion but you've totally thrown this one into the gutter!

Sheila A wrote "We just get fat, deaf and old as dirt."

That may be. What is the average age of death in the last three generations of your family ?

Nicole--you really are seriously obsequious, aren't you?

One, there are many, many medical conditions that can cause one to gain weight and many, many medications that cause one to gain weight.

Two, saying that obesity would respond to dietary changes and regular exercise kind of begs the question. What does "respond" mean--less weight gain, stabilizing one's weight, losing a slight amount, or becoming not obese and staying that way? Hint--answer #4 is incorrect for the vast majority of the population; that's been studied already.

What do you mean by "dietary changes"? Eating like a person who has had bariatric surgery--cutting one's food into pieces the size of pencil erasers and having to choose food that is similar to the diet of a Tibetan monk? Yes, I suppose if one ate the equivalent of rabbit kibble and drank nothing but water, that dramatic and sustainable weight loss is possible even without bariatric surgery--but virtually all people with sustained weight loss have had to have their stomachs decreased in size or have had to get several feet of their intestines removed--and it is this loss of body parts that causes the weight loss and not the diet.

And, "regular exercise" also begs the question given that many obese people became that way due to physical conditions or occupational requirements that prevent the sort of "regular exercise" (i.e. several hours a day, every day, and yes, you can look that up, too) that would result in a dramatic and sustainable weight loss. People get the impression from all the ridiculous stories about people dropping dramatic amounts of weight by "walking for just 20 minutes a day" that those who are obese must sit completely inert in order to look as they do. This despite the fact that many football players, who are highly active, are also obese. A slight increase in activity level will make a person feel better (and is, of course, a good idea), but it is not going to result in a major weight loss unless that person is very young or very male or very white (people who are non-white have other genetic issues to contend with).

The final point is that what is considered "obese" is a measurement. That measurement is man-made and not factual. Someone invented the idea of "obese." Many cultures do not get repulsed at the sight of people who are heavy, they do not have a concept of "obese" (which, in fact, is considered attractive in some places), and there is a lot of evidence that what you consider "obese" is actually "normal" for people who are non-white. Black women, for example, who are heavy do not exhibit the same kinds of issues that white women do--not all obese populations suffer from the same issues.

I am delighted that you gained weight and then lost it. I have noted that one way for people who still have their underlying good health and relative youth can do this. They then maintain their weight by demonizing people who are obese: they are lazy, they are stupid, they are depressed, they have low self-esteem, they need to be pitied and uplifted and educated.

That is, you create an image of an obese person in your mind which repulses you and this helps to motivate you to "eat right" (and apparently you have the income to do this) and "exercise" (and apparently you have the leisure time and the community facilities to allow you to do this). That is, you don't live in a ghetto area where there are no fresh fruits and vegetables that are within your means, you aren't in financial troubles (and don't tell me about your upper-middle-class financial troubles brought about by over-consumption), and you don't live in an area with high crime that confines you to your home, and you don't have a job (like mine) that ties you to a computer for 16-20 hours out of the day (right now, at the end of a term, it is 20 hours a day--my only "leisure" is the occasional break to read interesting articles and respond to morons like yourself and yes, I really should go and move the laundry from the washer to the dryer, but that's the only "exercise" I would be getting, so it really wouldn't help much in terms of obesity though it would help my legs feel better).

So, anyway, my point is that you need to stop proving to all of us that you 1) haven't read any of the medical literature about how populations differ in terms of obesity rates, you 2) haven't read any of the medical literature about health conditions and medication that cause weight gain, you 3) haven't read any of the medical literature about how dramatic weight loss (going from "obese" to "normal") is simply not sustainable for the vast majority of people, you 4) haven't read the medical literature about how bariatric surgery is about the only option, you 5) haven't read the medical literature about the dramatic changes in the production of available food products in the last 50 years (hint--it has to do with all the animals being given growth hormones and fed corn), and you 6) have some kind of serious chip on your shoulder that you want to come in and "educate" people in a really irritating, patronizing tone.

If you really wanted to help people who are obese, you would be out in your community advocating for more sidewalks, a pay rate that would be livable, a greater availability of produce for people in "food deserts," better cafeteria food in public schools, better regulation of food products to get the growth hormones out of them . . . . well, I could go on.

But, what you are doing instead is staying on this particular story and "responding" to people to try and show how much more knowledgeable you are and that you have "personal experience" that proves your point.

So, uh, have you had that narcissism looked into?

Oh I know I am fat LOL and I hate exercising. But I still out work my co-workers and I am MUCH older than them at that! I also only took 2 days sick last year, while the majority of the co-workers took their FULL sick days because THEY were sick; I know this because only 2 of them have kids so they didnt take it for their kids. That would be a totally different story.

We all have our vices and we have to own up to them, the good, the bad and the ulgy!

Bean@Home: methinks thou doth protest too much.

Anyone who writes as much as you do to refute such a claim is obviously SUPER DEFENSIVE. You're also filled with rationalizations, and you're just plain wrong.

Very few obese people are obese due to medical conditions. There have been many studies done that demonstrate the huge disconnect between what obese people THINK they eat and what they ACTUALLY eat -- super fatties tend to think they eat about 1/4th of the calories they actually consume every day.

Fat people tend to live in denial, and your overly-long and drawn-out response shows that clearly.

I agree with Krell- I think Bean went a little overboard. Obese people DO in general underestimate what they eat. There are also plenty of people out there who don't understand what "healthy" is from a nutritional perspective. Just because it's a salad, doesn't mean it's healthy. We would all benefit if people owned up to their shortcomings instead of calling other's names, screaming discrimination and blaming it on genetics/health conditions etc. It's all about personal resonsibility, pointing the finger at other people doesn't do anything to help your credibility.

I also only took 2 days sick last year, while the majority of the co-workers took their FULL sick days because THEY were sick; I know this because only 2 of them have kids so they didnt take it for their kids

So you showed up to work sick and contagious therefore you got them sick? You're such a nice person. <sarc>

There are also plenty of people out there who don't understand what "healthy" is from a nutritional perspective. Just because it's a salad, doesn't mean it's healthy.

Indeed. Have lost count of the times I've watched someone with a large salad pour carbohydrate-intensive dressing all over it and suck down a Coke.

Stacy 1128 no I wasn't sick, I stayed home when I was sick. Where did you get that I came to work sick??? Are you assuming that?? If so you know what assuming gets you right?

Na, Noneya, just asking a question. Sorry you didn't get my sarcasm.

Yeah, I'm with you on that, geez.

LOL - you're wrong Harry!

don't hire smokers, lazy people, fat people, coffee drinkers, people with kids, people with cell phones who text constantly, oh wait there's no one left!

I think it was done by the same people who determined that people who drive over 100mph tend to get in more wrecks.

Not everything is discrimination. We throw this term around way too loosely. There are some facts you can't argue with. I agree with you regarding excess, whether it be food, drugs or alcohol, none of it is good. We all have to take resonsibility for our own actions.

leenzy54 wrote "Go after the people that smoke, take drugs and drink to excess."

Why not go after the people that eat to excess?

When I can't get through the aisles at Walmart without stepping aside for fat people and their fat kids, it's getting ridiculous. You will never see them pass the potato chip aisle without picking up a bag or three, while I have only purchased said chips once in a year. I walk every day and I have lost 10 pounds and dropped two sizes. Now tell me, what is your excuse for weighing 200 or 300 pounds and when are you going to realize that you can beat it if you try? I am waiting. See you at at track.

oh yeah, because being obese is totally NOT an addiction, right, leenzy?

obesity is, in most cases, stems from an uncontrolled consumption of food (wow, imagine that... you get fat from eating a lot?? noooo...), and uncontrolled over-consumption. craving and denial usually point to an addiction as well.

if you have a "weight issue", you have an issue, and you most definitely need to deal with it.

oh and, i smell discrimination against said smokers, drinkers etc. who are you to even DARE to speak about discrimination when you are clearly doing so yourself? wow, such hypocrisy.

oh and by the way, my entire family is heavy, yet i stay in shape. that is because i don't stuff myself with unnecessary junk and then point the finger at something else for making me the way i am. being normal in that environment sure is hard, but manageable if you have enough will power and determination. oh and, god knows i love my folks, but they are definitely less energetic then other fit people their age, which is a shame since it definitely shows in their daily activities. so yeah, "weight issues" are as big a deal as other issues.

next time, try to look at yourself before you point your finger at others.

LOL too funny! I agree, not all people take sick days because they are sick. They could just be sick and tired!

They don't call them Mental Health Days for nothing! My employer doesn't care what you weigh. You get 3 sick/personal days a year and then you get docked any day you are out.

ever heard of "statistics" fatso? so you're at one end of the bell curve - big deal.

Lump. hahaha.

With all due respect, it has nothing to do with prejudice at all. I DO understand weight struggles. If you had read my earlier comments you would know that. I have to eat a 1200 calorie a day diet ( on average) to maintain my weight, because otherwise I would gain. I also work on average 50 hours a week, go to nursing school more than half time and I force myself to find time for the gym. I get it, i've been there. If you are eating healthy portions and calorie restricting and still have trouble losing weight, I would definitely suggest seeing your physician. There may be an underlying medical issue contributing to your problem. There are people who have slow metabolisms and have to eat less.. not fair, but that's life. No one said that fat people are lazy, certainly not myself. Clearly that is not always the case, there are plenty of people who are lazy who don't have weight issues. No one is singling anyone out, just making a comment on a study.

Nicole, gym memberships are a waste of money. You can get out of the car when you get home, put on your sneakers, walk around the block, and fell better and lose weight. It's like Friday nights when you have plans with your husband to go dancing, if you sit on the couch for even a minute you will not go dancing. You have to fake your body into doing it. Then your body will be like, "What did we just do? Did we just walk around the block? You faked me out!" Try it. You can't possibly be working and studying all day Saturday and Sunday. Your lungs need air! Go go go.

Nicole, with all due respect to you, 99% of the posters on this story are EXTREMELY clear in their "suggestion" (more like hysterical SCREAMING) that obese=lazy in no uncertain terms....

It will not be long in coming; obese people are going to be slaughtered on the streets by violent people similar to those posting here who hate others with such passion that the mob mentality takes over. Scary!

Cathy- I understand what you're saying.. the gym is convenient for me during the week and only costs me $10 a month. My husband and I do enjoy hiking on the weekends and truth be told, I'd much rather be outside if my schedule permitted.

Miskaffon- I don't disagree.. there are people who have indicated that fat=lazy. I don't think this is always the case, there are plenty of lazy people out there that are not overweight. As far as work ethic goes, people should be judged on their individual merits, attendance and productivity.

There is no excuse to be 330 lbs at all Nicole.

Say what you will about medical conditions or not having time, but that's really not an excuse. Let me explain why:

a) If work was really an excuse, then every graphic designer, programmer, computer tech, and systems administrator would be overweight.

b) If medical issues was a valid excuse, then why weren't there any 330 lb people in the 1900's? Medical conditions that affect weight existed back then, so please stop using this as an excuse.

I'm sorry if I seem inconsiderate, I just hate when overweight people act like they are victims of some weight causing pandemic.

I've been there(I weight 220 lbs 2 years ago, now I weigh 170), I've seen other people who have been there, and it's really all a matter of effort. Once you get the weight off, it will be hard to keep it all off, but it will be even harder to gain it ALL back if you put a little effort into it.

I eat candy and drink soda basically every day, I just make sure to take the stairs when I can, and take my dogs out on walks at least every other day.

nicole, if you are hiking, i would think you would lose a pound or two once in a while, can you swear you never eat chips or drink sugar colas? i personally prefer diet lipton green tea, tastes great (mixed berry/raspberry) and no fizz (who needs it). water is too boring for me. good luck.

Cathy, I don't do it all the time.. and not as much as I should. I mostly control my weight with diet, but I realize that exercise is vitally important. I have pretty much stayed the same weight for about 15 years.. give or take 5 pounds. I love the diet lipton tea, and water as well.. I never have regular soda's but yes i do indulge on the weekends with desserts and if we're eating out.. chips and salsa. I think it's important to try to eat as healthy as you can but it's also ok to allow yourself to have something you're craving once in a while, otherwise no one would ever stick to a "diet".

Nicole E, I hope to help here. First of all, you mentioned eating chicken something and consider it healthy. I want to say that, chicken itself as it used to be is good. But today's chicken in the US, it is not what it used to be any more. Chickens are now being blown up with hormones in a very short time for huge profit (although they are still being touted as healthy food due to the lean meat). So stop eating them, unless you know they are free range. There are many other foods including fish, fruits and vegetables that are grown with excessive growth stimulants. But the chickens are by far the worst. And yes, everything you put in your mouth you will have to think first. It was not the case, but it is now because of the food industry's profit chasing. I must disagree with you on the genes. If you go back a couple of generations in your family tree, I doubt you can find someone over 300 lbs. With a desk job, it is hard to stay active. But being outside doing anything can also avoid snacking which is a huge contribution to over weight. I have a BMI of about 20 and many people think I just dont gain weight. But it is not true. If I stayed home and watched TV just for 3-4 hours in a day without doing much outdoor activities, I saw my weight going up 2 lbs in a single day. So stay active (doesn't have to be in the gym) and eat less (avoid heavily hormonized food) should get anyone to the normal weight range. By the way, eating less means you don't eat till you are full, but till you are not hungry.

obese people are going to be slaughtered on the streets by violent people

ROTFLMFAO!!!!! Yeah, I can just see it now... downtown NYC...thousands of fat people laying dead in the streets...blocking the flow of traffic, horns honking, cars driving around piles and piles of dead fat people...roving gangs of fat people killers...

AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Please tell me that was a joke. Please?

I agree - Insurers bump rates if you smoke. Why not if you're a fatso? Base it on BMI and charge accordingly. I'm tired of being healthy and having to pay for fatsos knee replacement and diabetes meds.

Insurance companies DO either charge more to an individual for their insurance. OR they just flat out deny you if you have an underlying medical condition to go along with it. I know this personally. It happened to me. And how is it costing you more? I don't have welfare or a free ride.....I pay my own premiums. I fill out my medical problems on the form which determines how much I MUST pay. So please explain to me how I'm costing you more.

Yes, I am over weight. I work 12 hours a day on my feet. My problem is that I have degenerative joint disease, arthritis, spondylosis in my back, and it makes it's very painful to do what a normal healthy person would do for exercise....like just walking. I had these issues well before I became the weight I am now. I know this weight doesn't help the issues any, but it's tough when it hurts to just walk...let alone go excercise. I had tried joining a gym and found myself in the doctors repeatedly with more damage being done to my joints.

Though I have always struggled with my weight, even as a child. I was teased and bullied throughout my childhood relentlessly. My adoptive mother made nutritious foods, didn't allow snacking...hek we couldn't even open the fridg without asking. And I was an active kid...I lived at the roller skating rink, was an avid swimmer, and was really into bike touring. But it wasn't until my early 30's that my degenerative disease was discovered, as it manifested into a very painful condition. As it became more painful, the weight crept on.

I still try to get out as much as possible, thanks to pain management....basically pain medication. Which there too, it's a problem because i take the meds to relieve the pain so I can get out and move. So don't go just dumping every overweight person into one group that you ASSUME is fat and lazy and don't care about themselves, until YOU actually walk a mile in their shoes.

No I don't like the situation I'm in. Many days I struggle because I feel like an young active person stuck inside an old body. It's depressing. It's people who are thin, society AGAIN with what a person should be, how much they should weigh, what they should or should not wear, all this politaical correctness, that is really messing with our kids heads. Lets not forget the eating diorders like anorexia or bulemia that society is creating with displaying all the images of what they believe a woman should look like.

My brothers girlfriend DIED while getting a gastric bypass to try to lose weight because she needed help getting thin because what she was doing wasn't working. All I can say it's a sad day when people are willing to gamble with dying to avoid being bullied by a stereo typing society.

@2cents - you should try swimming again, if you don't already. The water will help take the strain off your joints and offer resistance. Water-aerobics classes are pretty great, especially if you get a good instructor, check with your local YMCA.

I know at least 4 people who have diabetes and are NOT even remotely fat. So it's not just a obese persons issue.

While not everyone with type 2 diabetes is overweight, obesity and lack of physical activity are two of the most common causes of this form of diabetes. It is also responsible for nearly 95% of diabetes cases in the United States, according to the CDC.

http://diabetes.webmd.com/guide/diabetes-causes

2cents:

No kidding. You missed the point. Besides, anecdotal exceptions aren't remotely evidence to the contrary of any point. Please see stew.pidbeatch's post to help you learn more about this problem.

Remember, recognizing the problem is the first step towards solving it.

Sorry JMCL but the study says ur wrong. Facts are facts fatso. Ur in denial