(no subject)

[moon_custafer]

Someone just brought round a petition to have Weight Watchers covered under our company health insurance. I noticed reaction to this was rather sharply divided along gender lines, with most of the men in the room worrying that this would increase the deduction off their paychecks, and suggesting that they send round a petition asking for a tv at work. The women countered by alternately arguing that obesity is the new century’s big health problem, but also asking the men “don’t you want to see nice-looking girls at work.” This is pretty much why I ultimately didn’t sign it; also because it specified one particular diet company by name. At the same time I worry that I’m in a “that’s easy for you to say” position here.

Everybody else signed, including the men (they caved pretty easily under pressure).

Comments

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

How are Weight Watchers and a TV any sort of equivalent? Wouldn't they cancel each other out, in fact?

The "nice-looking girls at work" argument is, indeed, both flawed and sort of creepy, and making it only Weight Watchers is restrictive. But I can't say I don't sympathize, both with them and with you. Sorry; sounds really uncomfortable.

[crankydon.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

At least we've moved beyond 300 pound women suing their doctors for making "sexist" comments about their weight such as "you should try and lose some weight". I take your co-workers point that preventative medicine, such as diet and nutrition advice, would be a better expenditure of money than paying for the heart-attacks and renal failures later. However tying it to one particular for-profit company seems wrong.

[moon-custafer.livejournal.com]

Re the doctor - even that can depend. If you're talking about the same case I recall hearing about, the problem was that the doctor hadn't said "you should lose come weight for health reasons, " he'd said "you should lose some weight or no man will want you." Pretty big diff.

[moon-custafer.livejournal.com]

Really, the co-workers with the petition should have tried the argument that since someone in management decided a month back to put up annoying little posters in the lunchroom with slogans like “You are what you eat - who will you be today?*” they might want to actually put some money where their mouth is.


*I have so far resisted the urge to draw a package labelled “soylent green” on this poster. I doubt anyone at the office would get the joke, anyway.