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You're fat and you're going to pay for it!

14:22 / 22.07.02

The "Fat" thread (sorry, but I have no idea how to link to threads) is raising a lot of issues about the perception of weight in society. One that is obliquely raised but I think justifies a thread to itself is:
What are the ethics of financially distinguishing the overweight?

Note - I say 'financially distinguishing' to avoid the pejorative term 'financially discriminating'.

Four examples occur to me immediately:
(i) Airlines making particularly overweight individuals pay for 2 seats;
(ii) Employers not taking on anybody who is over a certain weight;
(iii) Insurers charging more for life/medical insurance for the overweight and even potentially refusing cover;
(iv) Public health systems limiting access to health care for the overweight / taxing the overweight more to cover increased health costs (I am not aware of any such cases, but it's clearly a possibility).

Is this sort of behaviour ethical? Should it be allowed? Should there be legislation preventing such behaviour?

14:31 / 22.07.02

When I started this thread I thought it would be better to set the questions without answering them myself in the original posting - sorry if I failed to be 100% objective.

My own views are somewhat uncertain:

In private matters (purchase of airline seats for example) I think the parties should be able to do what the hell they want. In particular, if the vendor feels that its other customers will be physically affected by the customer's weight then I can see that the vendor ought to be able to protect its other customers experiences of its services.

In public matters (public health services) I think that generally the right to the service is determined by citizenship/residency, so weight should be irrelevant. We don't expect those who engage in dangerous sports to pay more tax, so why should we expect those who are overweight?

It's in employment situations that I get the most confused. Obviously if there is a health requirement for performing the job you cannot expect the employer to ignore the applicant's inability to perform the job - e.g. mountain rescue team member. But otherwise, I get a real conflict between:
(i) Private rights of the employer to do what the hell they want - subject to third party rights not to be discrimated against on grounds of sex, race or religion;
(ii) Human rights of the prospective employee to employment (assuming they can do the job and work hard etc).
Maybe discrimination on the grounds of weight should be unlawful? But it seems to me that this is a different case because there is a degree (how much? in reality?) of choice in the matter. Hmmmm. I just don't know.

P.S. I think it goes without saying I would personally never agree to discriminating in employment against somebody just because of their weight or, for that matter, how good looking they were or whether their style matched mine... But I do admit that with the very overweight I would prefer my airline carrier to make them take 2 seats rather than infringe on mine.

14:56 / 22.07.02

Interesting questions...

Airlines making particularly overweight individuals pay for 2 seats

I think this is acceptable, especially considering the premium placed on space in planes and the urgency to maximize monetary yield per cubic foot. Facilities such as planes, cinemas and the like target average body sizes to make economies of scale in manufacturing seats etc. "Average body size" is the key phrase here, obviously, and as average sizes in the US increase, it seems likely that so too will seat sizes in public venues. If someone does not now fit in the "average seat" provided, but could given discipline in eating and fitness, then I don't see why someone else should have to pay (or lose money) for their choice.

Employers not taking on anybody who is over a certain weight

This obviously depends on the job. I can certainly understand the military not hiring obese soldiers, just as I can understand construction crews not hiring skinny people to operate the jackhammer. To embrace diversity of body size brings with it a responsibility to understand that not all sizes are appropriate for all activities.

Insurers charging more for life/medical insurance for the overweight and even potentially refusing cover

To me, this depends on whether we're talking about overweight or obese individuals, and whether the weight is caused by glandular conditions, a person's "natural" body size, mental issues (e.g. reaction to historical event), lack of willingness to eat healthily and work out etc. I don't think private insurers need to insure people who place their own health at risk, whether through weight or any other means.

Public health systems limiting access to health care for the overweight / taxing the overweight more to cover increased health costs

Public health systems ought to insure the public equitably. Surely citizenship is the only qualification here...