Recently, it was reported that a Texas hospital had instituted a policy barring obese applicants from obtaining employment at the hospital. Specifically, the policy required that prospective employees’ body mass index be less than 35 (i.e., less than 245 pounds for someone who is 5 feet 10 inches tall). In announcing the policy, the hospital stated that obese applicants did not “fit with a representational image … of the job of a health care professional,” which included appearances “free from distraction” for the hospital’s patients.
Although the policy was the first of its kind to gain widespread notoriety, the trend by employers to seek healthier workforces has been gaining momentum for several years. This is not surprising in light of recent studies regarding obesity. A Cornell University study released in January states that obesity accounts for almost 21 percent of United States health care costs (approximately $190 billion per year), and a report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that 12 states have obesity rates above 30 percent. In fact, only one state (Colorado) has a rate lower than 20 percent (19.8 percent), and Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware have rates of 28.5, 24.1 and 28.0 percent, respectively.
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