Bus Company Says Thin Drivers Deserve Better Pay 54
In an attempt to promote good employee health, a Lithuanian transport company is paying thin drivers better salaries than their overweight co-workers. Over 100 drivers were weighed to determine their BMI. "We just wanted to promote a health lifestyle," said Vilius Lauzikas, director of Busturas, the transport company in question. The local union and donut loving drivers aren't fans of the new policy. "We cannot call it nothing other than a mockery. If they (the company) do not reconsider we will appeal to the courts," a union representative said.
Illegal? (Score:2)
I am pretty sure most countries in the developed world do not allow discrimination on the basis of weight.
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but there's nothing illegal with the doorway to the interviewer's office being really narrow ;)
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Actually, here in the USA, it may be... we have the Americans with Disabilities Act.
For the purposes of this thread, I therefore deem the USA to be a country where doorways (and lots of other things) must legally be built to accommodate fat people. That would seem to imply that the fatness of US citizens is legally protected. And you wonder why there's an obesity epidemic...
And for the bazillion people who will correct me or mod me down, come on, have a laugh.
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what's sad is that "fat" is considered a disability.
In my book, a "disability" is something that's beyond your control, you're asking society to help you with a disadvantage you can't fix. You can't fix paralyzed, you can't fix amputatated, you can't fix crippled, and you can't fix blind. While I realize this is not always the case, most of the time, you can fix FAT.
Problem is, the 95% of the people with "fixable fat" are trying to suck up to the system to help enable their problem, under the banner of t
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Yes, of course, because there's nothing easier than defying millions of years of evolution by routinely not eating when you're hungry.
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Then make yourself not hungry.
Try drinking a large glass of water. Most people don't get enough water; doing it once probably doesn't work too well, but I found that drinking more water consistently made me less hungry. It's the perfect no-calorie drink.
Eat something that is low-calorie. Cheap and quick? Try baby carrots, 100 calories for 8 ounces. A can of Del Monte green beans, 70 calories per can. Either one is a fair amount of food, is healthy for you, and won't ruin you for calories.
Most importan
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By doing that consistently for several years AND exercising 3 hours every night, I actually got my weight to only 20 pounds over my "ideal" weight. Then I became an adult with an actual responsibility to have a job and that went out the window.
You did a nice job assUmeing that I "gorge myself" at meals. Perhaps YOU do/did that, but I certainly don't.
The simple fact is that some people wolf down the calories, barely exercise, and remain thin because they are naturally thin. Others eat sparingly and exercise
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Some of us have been "adults" with "actual responsibility" for decades. The fact of the matter is that the United States is rapidly trending towards overweight; this is not a matter of "naturally thin" or "natural weight." I wrote a different message that you might want to read in this thread that helps shed some light on some of that.
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I ask you this, ever seen a naturally fat Ethiopian?
I haven't seen all that many Ethiopians except for the worst case ones in TV commercials. None of them are at their natural weight, so I can't really say if any of them would be fat or not.
A question for you, have you ever seen a skinny or trim power lifter? Not those guys who "sculpt" their muscles, the ones who can lift outrageous amounts of weight until you wonder how the steel bar doesn't break.
A note for you, I have been a builder, mechanic, and landscaper. Didn't lose any weight. I don't have fries wi
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Your body can be reasonably simplified as a closed system. As far as losing or gaining weight, the math still works. If you eat less than you burn in a day (either by eating less or using more), you will lose weight. There is no magic here at all. If you think that you are not eating enough, and are still gaining weight, you are deluding yourself.
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It's a LOT more complex. Of the calories you consume, some portion will be metabolized and the rest will pass. That ratio of consumed to absorbed will vary in different people.
Likewise the conversion of that metabolic energy to work will happen at varying efficiency.
Finally, when caloric intake is restricted, the metabolism will shift to a conservation mode. The point where that happen and the degree of conservation will vary.
A person with a low absorption and work efficiency and a minimal response to calor
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You're aware that different systems have different levels of efficiency, yes? Bodies are similar. Some are extremely efficient, others less so, some are extremely inefficient. Now I'm not making excuses here, I probably weigh about 50 pounds more than I should, but I'm well aware it's my own fault. I exercise, but also eat more calories than I should. On the other hand I know people who eat far worse diets than I do, *and* don't exercise who have a lower BMI. Why? I can't say specifically, but my gue
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Actually, there is another, entirely real option, liposuction. Guaranteed results, unlike any attempt to diet.
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Read up on the science behind low-carbohydrate eating, you actually don't have to starve to lose weight.
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The amazingly easy diet is simply this: slow down. It's a very well established fact that it takes your body up to 25 minutes to register "I've had enough to eat", and that's 25 minutes of time you continue to feed your face past your need. If you just pace your meals, take small portions at a time and make several trips to the buffet instead of PILING up two plates, not gulp down your food, you'll find you get to "satisfied" without eating nearly as much food or making ANY changes in your diet.
So many pe
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On this same thread, a large glass of water 20 minutes prior to a meal helps.
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Yeah, uh, huh! I spent a year eating exactly what the skinniest person I have ever met ate (most people just assumed she was anorexic). Identical plates. Guess what? I lost a few pounds and then leveled off.
It may be that there is some magic diet that turns fat people thin without creating a state of perpetual starvation, but if so, science apparently hasn't found it.
Life is too short to consume it with worrying over a 'condition' that causes me no harm whatsoever.
This kind of reminds me of all the people w
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Yes, of course, because there's nothing easier than defying millions of years of evolution by routinely not eating when you're hungry.
Or not assaulting people when you're angry, or not raping people when you're horny, or not stealing when you're jealous.
Welcome to civilized society, where we expect you to have some fucking impulse control.
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Guess what will happen if you follow someone around hurling insults 24/7. He will surely assault you eventually.
There's only so long a person can be expected to put up a sustained resistance to that sort of impulse. People avoid giving in to horny through a combination of finding a willing partner, hiring a willing partner, or "going solo". In other words, they give in all the time to a drive that is lower on the order of evolutionary priorities than eating (no eat = no reproduce ever again, after all).
Here
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Everyone gets angry once in a while. People with self control find a way to vent that anger that doesn't harm themselves or others. People without self control attack what they're angry at.
Everyone gets hungry once in a while. People
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It appears that you are simply unable to conceive the possibility that just maybe some or even most fat people are either cursed with an overly efficient metabolism or an over active sense of hunger.
Given the degree to which that colors your every thought on the subject, there is no real point in even attempting to discuss the subject.
PLONK
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If either your 'overly efficient metabolism' or 'over active sense of hunger' are actual medical conditions, I made exceptions for them in my previous arguments. If they're just excuses you're making for fat people to continue indulging in their base instincts, then you've help
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The problem is, you're not actually presenting an argument, you just keep claiming fat people are gluttonous with no evidence or even an anecdote to back your claim.
Of course, I'm not sure either of those is any more a medical condition than dark skin or green eyes.
I have to say, you sound much like the people of yesteryear who were sure all N***ers were slothful and had no soul. Present yourself better and this could turn into a discussion.
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Obesity is not a physical disability (with the exception of obesity caused by physiological disorders such as Thyroid disease) because it can be managed through diet and exercise. Becoming obese is not something that happens overnight, you don’t wake up fit on Monday, go on a buffet bender and wake up obese on Tuesday, it requires a long term pattern of self-destructive, self-indulgent behavior. Obesity is the number two (fast approaching number one) preventable cause
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You're awfully arrogant for a man whose entire premise is failed from the start. You keep harping about people overindulging as if that's the entire cause of the problem. It isn't. As someone who has been "naturally fat" since a child and who has managed to get the weight off only to watch it come back again, I can tell you without doubt I eat far less NOW than I did before I essentially doubled my weight. When I was in my mid twenties I lived at the gym - went in the morning, went again at night. I weighed
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I do not necessarily disagree with your basic idea there.
However, let's be aware of the fact that we've had a shift away from healthy foods in the last 30 or so years. There's even a school of thought that the food pyramid (USDA, 1992, from an earlier Denmark concept) itself is fundamentally wrong, and that emphasis on complex carbs has had a profound effect on public health.
Speaking for myself, I've been able to lose weight first and foremost by doing some intensive reading and thinking. I've read with s
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I am pretty sure most countries in the developed world do not allow discrimination on the basis of weight.
I can't speak for other countries, but here in the USA, there is nothing illegal about discrimination on the basis of weight. The US military does, as do Fire rescue, etc... Do you really want a 300 lbs. fireman climbing up the ladder to pull you from a burning multi-story building? Or how about an airline stewardess who is so large they can't fit down the aisle way. Model agencies are probably the best known example of weight discrimination. Heck, my company pays its employees a bonus if they work out
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Heck, my company pays its employees a bonus if they work out.
I don't think I'd want to work for a company that expects me to waste my time at the gym. Unless, of course, I was doing it in work hours. I definitely wouldn't do it in my own time.
What a stupid policy.
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I think your pay for "working out" is the bonus.
Therefore, it's during "work hours." The pay may be more than, less than, or the same as your usual rate, but it's still paid.
You can even claim that you're a professional excerciser since you're being paid to do it.
You don't want to do that sort of work? Cool. No "bonus" for you.
*shrug*
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I've got better things to do with my time, like work for a company that pays a decent wage and doesn't waste money on stupid ideas like this. I'm probably fitter than most of the people at your company's gym anyway ;-)
I've got to wonder if this is maybe discriminating against disabled workers, too.
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The pay may be more than, less than, or the same as your usual rate, but it's still paid.
Unless it pays at least $7.25 per hour, minimum wage law might interfere with your interpretation.
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I am pretty sure most countries in the developed world do not allow discrimination on the basis of weight.
And I'm pretty sure that with the obesity problem and associated medical issues killing people at an alarming rate, driving all insurance rates up, we need this discrimination.
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huh? (Score:2)
Hang on. So they can call it something other than a mockery? So it's OK, then.
Does Lithuanian use double negatives? (Score:2)
I love the implecation (Score:2)
in the description that someone who is thin wouldn't also be upset with discrimination of someone else.
I'm hearing that only fat people are mad? (Score:1)
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I'm fat and I think it's a great idea. Maybe if I had an distinct immediate incentive other than a vague distant one like "some day your heart will explode," I would take the time to lose the weight.
Oh well.
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Congratulations! No "loosers" in this thread! (Score:1)
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I could loose the weight, but if I loose my way in the Gobi desert next weak, I will not have enough fat on me too survive the harsh winter, and than I will get all week and die. You don't want that do you? F
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I could loose the weight, but if I loose my way in the Gobi desert next weak, I will not have enough fat on me too survive the harsh winter, and than I will get all week and dye. You don't want that do you? F
FTFY.
Makes Sense (Score:1)