Only “normal” fat or obese? This does not always make a difference when it comes to discrimination at work.
Image: dpa
Obese people have more problems finding a job and earn less than slim people. If you are bullied at work as a fat man, you should defend yourself, say labor lawyers. It’s not easy.
“One likes to make fun of fat people…fat people aren’t hip…being fat is torture….I’m glad that I’m such a skinny herring. Because thin means to be free.” With his song “Dicke” from 1978, the German musician Marius Müller-Westernhagen only wanted to draw attention to discrimination, he wanted to address what mean things people would say behind closed doors. But he was accused of making fun of fat people; some radio stations no longer played “Dicke”. Müller-Westernhagen’s intentions were probably well-intentioned, but apparently did not have the desired effect. Perhaps the subject of being fat is too sensitive for people to take it with humour. There is still a strong stigma attached to being overweight, which is also noticeable at work. There are a number of studies showing that obese people, especially those who are severely overweight, are discriminated against, regardless of their position – from CEOs to cleaners.
First of all, it makes sense to differentiate – between “normal” overweight and obesity, in technical jargon obesity. A body mass index (BMI) of between 25 and 30 is overweight, and a BMI of 30 or more is obese. Most studies on discrimination at work relate to obese people. While “normal” overweight without other risk factors is not bad for your health, obese people have a significantly increased risk of various diseases – diabetes, fatty liver, back pain, heart disease, stroke, arthrosis and cancer are just a few of them. Obesity has been considered a disease requiring treatment in Germany since 2020, while people who are “normal” overweight should only lose weight in certain cases for health reasons.
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