Can you be fired?

Thu, 04/17/2008 - 15:32 — nbruce

Forget the Patriot Act. Forget stop words on Popline impeding your right to an easy search. Will you lose a job or not get one because you're over weight, aka fat? I really enjoy the blog Junkfoodscience.blogspot.com because the author really rips apart the health stories we hear over and over in the media (some of which I repeat) which then are used to support various initiatives. She's not writing about "junk food," but the junk "food science." Like this one from a month ago. http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/03/from-food-for-thought-file-can-you-be.html

"As the move to hire only low-cost employees and “a healthy work force,” fat people could also find themselves out on the street. Yes, you can be fired for anything, yet, the evidence points to things other than costs and mortality risks being behind these initiatives. The single largest demographic risk factor for early mortality in our country, accord to Daniel Kruger, a social psychologist at the University of Michigan Insitute for Social Research, is being male. Moderate drinkers live the longest, as shown in the American Heart Association's review of the evidence and in studies such as the recent Copenhagen City Heart Study. And the highest mortalities are found in those who are thin and aging. "

She really chews on the whole grains mantra and low fat diets for children.