It is well known that socioeconomic status and weight are correlated due to the lack of healthy food resources for certain populations, but I am NOT talking about that correlation. I'm talking about the opposite effect - the idea that the heavier you become, the poorer you become. According to Wallet Pop, a personal finance and advice website, overeating itself costs over $258,000. That is more money than it would cost to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day for 64 years. These numbers take into account the price of health care costs, lost years of life, and discrimination of salary in the work place.
It was found that overweight, white women were the most discriminated against in the workplace (for body weight reasons). The cultural bias stating that larger people are lazy, unmotivated, and non-compliant might have a lot to do with it. John H. Cawley, associate professor of human ecology at Cornell University, reports that "a weight increase of 64 pounds above the average for white women was associated with 9 percent lower wages." - Weight and Wages: A Woman’s Dilemma
Weight is seen as such an individual issue that one can't help but blame or discriminate against a person for this particular characteristic. There are obviously other factors factored in here - not trying to get into that debate - just thought the facts were interesting.
Being overweight or obese is a never-ending, vicious cycle that few can pull through. Fat?....check. Low self-esteem?....check. Broke?......check. Awesome, now I can for sure concentrate on getting back into shape. Uplifting idea, I realize. Happy freakin' Tuesday.
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