Texas hospital bans obese workers?

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  • JennyLisT
    JennyLisT Posts: 402 Member
    BMI is not a good measure of wellness. When I was in high school, there was a gym teacher/coach who some people would swear was 99.9% muscle. He was a short guy, and he was extremely active and healthy. He was denied health insurance because his BMI was too high.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member

    Is anyone else outraged about this? They say that worker with a BMI >35 cannot do their job effectively! What a crock of crap. I do my job a hell of a lot better than people with BMIs of <20!

    I guess it depends on the person - they seem to be assuming that all people with a BMI > 35 sit around all day and therefore have no energy at all for work which is of course not necessarily the case.

    What's interesting here is the hospital is not claiming that having a BMI of over 35 makes you unable to work, instead they're saying the APPEARANCE of someone in that category is off-putting to patients. There are definitely job categories in which you can be denied employment based on your appearance. Personally, I'd rather have a caring, overweight orderly than a thin, neglectful one.

    EDITED TO ADD:

    But then again, it is ridiculous to have seriously overweight people lecturing patients on proper diet and health. They should set an example. I assume the hospital isn't taking action against obese people who are already hired. If so, I think institutions who have a weight requirement should provide support to employees trying to lose weight.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    BMI is not a good measure of wellness. When I was in high school, there was a gym teacher/coach who some people would swear was 99.9% muscle. He was a short guy, and he was extremely active and healthy. He was denied health insurance because his BMI was too high.

    I've read this kind of claim before and find it hard to believe. If it really did happen, the man should have appealed and gotten a Dexa scan or some other valid method of showing why the BMI was not a good predictor of health.
  • JennyLisT
    JennyLisT Posts: 402 Member
    BMI is not a good measure of wellness. When I was in high school, there was a gym teacher/coach who some people would swear was 99.9% muscle. He was a short guy, and he was extremely active and healthy. He was denied health insurance because his BMI was too high.

    I've read this kind of claim before and find it hard to believe. If it really did happen, the man should have appealed and gotten a Dexa scan or some other valid method of showing why the BMI was not a good predictor of health.

    Actually, after the employee healthcare got revamped, he went with that instead of giving money to a company that denied him health insurance based on some sorry criteria. I'm sorry I didn't include the rest of the details for you.
  • Iceman420
    Iceman420 Posts: 195
    Only applicants with a BMI of <35 are even considered for a job...And this is something that might catch on like only hiring nonsmokers...

    Is anyone else outraged about this? They say that worker with a BMI >35 cannot do their job effectively! What a crock of crap. I do my job a hell of a lot better than people with BMIs of <20!

    With Obama's Health Care going into full swing next year, I'm afraid this will happen all over the country. It's another reason I want to get this weight off this year.

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