This......Is.....STUPID!

[patgund]

Workers told to shape up or pay up

"Looking for new ways to trim the fat and boost workers' health, some employers are starting to make overweight employees pay if they don't slim down.

Others, citing growing medical costs tied to obesity, are offering fit workers lucrative incentives that shave thousands of dollars a year off healthcare premiums.

In one of the boldest moves yet, an Indiana-based hospital chain last month said it decided on the stick rather than the carrot. Starting in 2009, Clarian Health Partners will charge employees as much as $30 every two weeks unless they meet weight, cholesterol and blood-pressure guidelines that the company deems healthy."

Comments

[omcintyre.livejournal.com]

When I worked for Intuit up through the end of 2004, they had a policy of not promoting employees who's BMI's put them in the "obese" category. They also "encouraged" the employees to join a health club, and at least one oganized sport sponsored by the company (whichever division they worked for). The "encouragement" included higher bonuses and wage increases and flex time for those participating in company sponsored team sports.

God forbid if you had an actual physical disability that prevented you from participating.

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

Not to mention that many bodybuilders have BMIs that technically fit into the "obese" category. BMI is a reasonable approximation for many people but it is hardly the conclusive definition of health.

[jnork.livejournal.com]

It's a blame-the-victim mentality. We as a nation need to stop making crappy cheap food and pushing it as healthy, with a frenetic lifestyle that encourages eating on the go and an economy that makes it impossible to afford good food if you're poor. And difficult if you're not affluent.

Not to mention that it's almost impossible to find good food in your typical supermarket.

And that same lifestyle has us driving everywhere and too busy to get any real exercise. I blame the industrial revolution...

Of course, we victims are letting it be done to us, too. If just a few percent of the population refused to eat manufactured food product you'd start to see a shift in what's being offered, and some of the prices on good foods would drop due to economies of scale.

*sigh*

[marymont.livejournal.com]

This has got to be illegal. You can't discriminate against someone on the grounds of a physical ailment, and fining an employee for a physical ailment is just that.

I expect to hear the lawsuits popping up all over.