Quo Vadis Opinions

Does being overweight affect your chances of advancement in working life?
Unfortunately all the research indicates, yes. It does affect your career prospects and not in a good way.
For example
Pingitore et al (1991) reports overweight people (20% above average weight) are more likely to be seen as lazy, slow and absent more often. There is an even stronger bias against overweight women. Very unfair and untrue, but these perceptions count against you in interviews.

To add insult to injury, as this external link indicates you’re more likely to get fat at many workplaces, due to the nature of the work. Met a client last week who told me they had put on a stone, since taking up a new job due to the long hours, entertaining and car travel.

So is being overweight the result of a personality weakness, an inability to control eating habits?

The scientists are still arguing over this. Many see over eating as an addiction with changes in brain chemistry preventing the over eater from controlling what they eat. A genetic predisposition has been blamed.
But even if a gene (mutation) is identified, it’s a bit like “finding the missing body, but still not solving the mystery of how they died“.
Many psychologists see it as a “psychological conditioned response” a habit we get into and is unconscious. We don’t know we’re doing it!

So all this research but still no solutions. Personally, I blame modern life. I used to cycle short distances around here, but one too many close encounters with lorries and cars, stopped that.

All day long, we’re surrounded by images of food, carefully marketed as healthy and tasty but in reality you’d need a science degree and have ten minutes to check each item’s packaging to check producer claims.

Here in Ireland, we build souless housing estates miles from shops, schools, sports, so you have to use the car to get anywhere.
So if you’re seriously overweight and looking to progress in your career, it will be easier (not fairer though) if you lose weight.

There are plenty of resources out there to help.

If though, you feel you can’t face into all this, I’d recommend just one thing. If you’re not doing it already, start exercising. (See your doctor first though if it’s been years since you’ve exercised)
Make sure it’s something enjoyable, be it walking with your MP3 player or going to beginner’s salsa dancing.
All the research shows exercise has great benefits. If you can make exercise a regular enjoyable part of your life, it will increase your ability to sort out the weight problem.

You might also find consulting an image consultant useful as this can provide useful tips to minimise your weight problem. I’ve found Jane Doyle (link here) good.

Finally, if you’re now totally depressed, here’s a link to a mad American Gadget which makes you exercise in your office chair! It’s a good laugh

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Tags: fat job impact, overweight job impact

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 9:08 pm and is filed under Career Guidance, Workplace trends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.