Whole Foods is implementing a plan to give a bigger employee discount to employees that don’t smoke, have lower blood pressure and have a BMI under 30. Naturally, people are whining about discrimination. This includes one quote that I can’t possibly do justice to other than to reproduce it in full:
“Why are you rewarding people who are naturally thin? We believe it’s discrimination,” said Peggy Howell, a spokeswoman for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. “We are encouraging our membership and anyone else who agrees with us to shop elsewhere.”
Sigh. Look, Peggy Howell, I’ve got news for you. Most of your membership IS ALREADY shopping somewhere else like Taco Bell and Long John Silver’s. My tiny little brain can’t even comprehend the idea of a National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.
This is a voluntary program to reward people for doing something valuable in the eyes of their employer. On top of that, it rewards people for doing what it takes to be healthier. It’s a fucking voluntary incentive program, no different than giving out bonuses to people who do more or better work. In the huge majority of instances, fat is a choice. Yes, some body types find it easier to not gain weight but contrary to Ms. Howell’s assertion, almost everyone is naturally thin. We eat too much and we exercise too little because we choose to.
I think it’s sad that it’s come to the point not only where being fat and out of shape is a badge of honor but where there is an association trying to spread the acceptance of it. This is not the same thing as civil rights or gay freedom or anything else out there. We are fat because we eat too much, exercise too little and live in a country where we have to do almost no physical labor at any time. Just today, I saw a commercial by a bariatric surgeon that told me if I was fat, I didn’t have a weight control problem, I had a medical condition called obesity. We are to the point where being overweight is a medical condition and not a choice. That’s unbelievable. Is weight loss hard? Only because our diet is so screwed up and our exercise output is so low. Get 30 minutes of exercise a day, eat nothing but meat, vegetables, nuts, seeds and fruit in 2000 calorie daily totals and you will lose weight in all most all cases. It just isn’t that hard from a physical standpoint. The rules are simple and easy to define. It’s the discipline to do so that goes so terribly wanting.
Whole Foods is trying to get their employees to be healthier. People who choose not to participate still get the same damn discount they have always gotten. This is an incentive program, plain and simple. Choose to do what it takes to be healthy and we’ll reward you. There’s nothing discriminatory about it. Bill Maher said it best: “Ask your doctor if getting off your ass is right for you.”
February 7, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Now, there are people who are naturally thin and those who are naturally husky. Evolutionary science tells us that. Blood pressure is as much genetics as it is diet/exercise. Evolutionary science tells us that. I’ve researched both of these, being THE Fat Guy and having HBP.
The only thing on that list that’s defensible from a science standpoint is the cigarette-sucking sinner, who is unlikely to be hired by / working at Whole Foods anyway, so that’s the free middle box in the bingo card.
The bottom line though is that the company can give employee discounts to whoever they want to, even if it’s redheads with six toes on one foot. And someone’s going to bitch about it, and someone’s going to write a news story about that bitching, and someone’s going to blog about the news story, and then someone’s going to comment on the blog. Because that’s what we do in America these days, instead of ignoring the whole damn thing, as it truly deserves. I hate to think what my poor grandfather would do if he were running his hamburger empire today and the news people learned he gave more free food to the poorer employees than he did the other ones.
February 8, 2010 at 8:31 am
I disagree that smoking is the only item in the list that’s worth discussing. I certainly agree that there are different body types and that those different body types tend to hold weight in different amounts. It’s my assertion though that even considering for that, obesity is not a natural condition regardless of body type. I could have done a better job of describing that but a BMI of 30 (which is what Whole Foods is using) is described as obese. I just don’t think that’s the natural state of things contrary to what the NAFAA wants us to believe.
Blood pressure may be another issue. I’d like to see some historical data on it ranging back to around 1940.
In the end, sure, it’s ridiculous to get worked up about. I’ve been successfully ignoring things like this for quite awhile which results in a very boring blog. I’m surprised anyone even sticks around. 🙂
February 8, 2010 at 9:28 am
I’ll agree with you and I am fat! Its my own fault I’ve never denied that. Although not mentioned here I do have a problem those pulling the strings of Big Bro that would like to see their fat tax in place and tell restaurants they can’t use Crisco. If I want to die choking on a twinkie thats my business and I expect nothing in return.