Overweight need not apply: what do you think?

"I don't hire overweight people. They're undisciplined." How do you respond to someone who says that?

This is a sensitive subject, which is why I've wanted to write about it for some time, and it's also why I've hesitated to write about it. It's something that has intrigued me enough, though, to give the edge to opening it up for discussion.

From where does this question stem? I recently heard someone share the story of a businessman who declared he would not employ someone who had a weight issue. Such people are not disciplined, he felt. And since they possess this flaw, why would he hire them?

I carry some extra pounds myself, so one might think this mindset offends me. It does not. I'm neither depressed nor impressed; I'm curious.

I have shared this man's thoughts with a couple of others, seeking their opinion. One person, who is thin, responded with outrage at the man for embracing that mindset and at me because I said I could understand where he was coming from. Was I saying I agreed with his hiring practices? No. Did I say I disagreed? No. What I said was that I understand his perspective.

Barring medical issues, is it true that overweight people demonstrate a lack of discipline? Is it reasonable to suggest that they are not the best choice to hire? I'm not sure we can credibly disagree that a lack of discipline figures into being overweight -- again, barring a health condition. Or am I wrong? If I'm a business owner, am I right to make assumptions based on what I see? The man is saying his eyes reveal a characteristic his mind deems detrimental to business. Why would he, then, hire someone obviously flawed when he wants his business to thrive and wants employees with the discipline to make that happen.

"Some people are thin but are in horrible shape," a friend expressed. They don't work out, and they don't eat right, she elaborated. "But because they're not overweight, they get the job? That's just wrong," she opined.

Some are disciplined in one area but undisciplined in another, said a second friend. "A person may be totally undisciplined in their personal lives, in their exercise patterns or eating, but be an amazing worker." I understand this perspective also, but I hear so many people say that in time, a person's weakness will eventually show up. He or she may be able to mask it for a while, but it will always come to the surface, just as some people shine in an interview, only to reveal shortly thereafter what they're really made of. So maybe the "weakness" that leads to being overweight eventually leads to poor job performance. Apparently, this businessman is not willing to take that chance.

I have questions for those who find the policy justified. How do you explain the long-term success of people who have struggled with weight? Let's take Oprah Winfrey, for example. It's been decades of struggle for her. What if she had never been hired? Or are you holding your breath for her demise, expecting it to come at any time? Can we say she's undisciplined? Well, yeah, I would say so. She's been undisciplined, at least, in her eating to a certain extent, but should that disqualify her, and is that a character flaw an employer should weed out from the start? And here's a good one: how do you even weigh weight? In other words, how do you decide what's "overweight"? And don't even mention those doctors' charts. Those things are ridiculous!

I also have questions for those who rail against the policy: Can you argue against a business owner having the right to hire whomever he desires? Can you not see the connection between discipline in one's personal life and discipline in business? Discipline is discipline, is it not? Who should make the decision of who will represent a company? And let's get down to where the rubber meets the road. What kind of history do you have with people you deem deeply flawed? Do you judge the inside by outward appearance -- in determining whom to trust, hire, date? Be honest.

The things we never know. Had this mindset never been shared with me, I wouldn't have known of this man who purposely avoids hiring people based on their appearance. He, of course, would disagree with my characterization of what he's doing. He would say, instead, that it's the lack of discipline he seeks to avoid, not overweight people per se; but when weight is the one area he deems important enough to point to specifically, it seems he's more focused on a visual flaw than other flaws that don't show up on a scale. But maybe that's OK.

I said from the start this is a touchy subject. It is. So tell us: On what side of this touchy subject do you stand, and why?

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member. Contact her at aross@semissourian.com.