Overweight Women Face Unexpected Risks

by Maggie Vink (Subscribe to Maggie Vink's posts)
Nov 20th 2008 5:00PM

Women who are overweight face many health risks, such as heart disease and type II diabetes. And Martha recently told us how overweight women tend to be more impulsive. But overweight women face some risks you might not expect:

Being fired. Could it be because people who are overweight have a higher rate of absenteeism? Or is it because of a prejudice? It's hard to pinpoint the reasons why, but medical research shows that overweight women run a higher risk of losing their jobs.
Being the victim of a crime. Overweight women run a greater risk of being victims of crimes. They're also more likely to become criminals.
Financial woes. Overweight women are more likely to find themselves broke.

It's a chicken and the egg situation, really. Is a woman's weight causing these negative life events or are the negative events causing stress that leads to overeating and obesity?

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Comments (4)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

u262f 11-20-2008 @ 8:36PM

I'm betting on unrelated third factor...

Some other condition or combination of factors (such as certain genes combined with certain upbringing) could be causing all the problems. For example, if some people's parents told them to brush themselves off and try again when things go wrong, maybe they're less likely to be obese AND less likely to lose their jobs than people whose parents just gave them a big hug, some ice cream, and a should to cry on when things don't go well. The first group might be more likely to react to setbacks by trying harder, while the second group might be more likely to wallow in stress and food instead of trying to fix the situation, resulting in worse job performance. Furthermore, chances are that it isn't just one simple factor like that but a wide range of environmental factors interacting with a range of genetic predispositions which leads to the overall behavior. We'll probably never entirely understand the full picture until we have a breakthrough in scientific method because science method isolates one variable at a time and seems to assume that all humans are interchangeable.

u262f 11-20-2008 @ 6:55PM

Oops. I meant "undefined third factor" rather than "unrelated". ^_^;

andrea 11-24-2008 @ 5:20PM

I'd venture to guess that on average, those people who are more likely to allow themselves to be overweight are more likely to let their standards slide in other areas- work, morals, etc. That would explain the loss of jobs and criminality. Also, if I were a criminal, I'd rob the person who probably couldn't chase me down, not the one who looks like an athlete.
Also, of course, overweight people are sick more often and miss more work. So yeah, they have a harder time holding down jobs.

contrary 2-17-2009 @ 5:19PM

I find some of the comments on this article to be full of stereotypes----many of you assume that overweight women lack strength, moral compass, etc.

have you ever thought of the overweight mom who takes care of her family while working 2 jobs?

I am an overweight woman, but also a very hard worker. I don't wallow in stress, and I started to overeat more as a kid because food was scarce and inconsistent and I wasn't sure when I would have my next meal.

some of you are allowing your stereotypes of overweight people to cover the reality of discrimination and bias in our society towards those that are obese or overweight.

I think more overweight women are victims of crime because our society places so much value on a person's appearance...if society doesn't value a person because they are heavy, then they are viewed as not worthy and people don't care so much if things happen to them. the same way that people treat women who are prostitutes and victims of crimes.