not statistically less extroverted, less emotionally stable or less agreeable

One of the bad things about being overweight or obese is that you are immediately stereotyped as being lazy, emotionally complicated and hypersensitive when compared to individuals of a normal weight. While is it true that obesity can affect the confidence of individuals many obese men and women say that the stigma attached to the issue of being overweight is almost worse than the actual physical problem.

The Ukmedix News Team have recently come across research done by a professor at the Michigan State University who can prove that the stereotypes attached to overweight employees are incorrect and that employers would do well to disregard all weight-based stereotypes if they want to make sure they employ the best people.

Professor Mark Roehling along with two colleagues also from the Michigan State University conducted a detailed study which looked at the personality traits and body weights of almost three and a half thousand employees. Their conclusions show that overweight and obese individuals were not statistically less extroverted, less emotionally stable, less agreeable or less conscientious.

Overweight people should not use this research as a means for putting off getting fit and slim. The fact is that being overweight is detrimental to your health and you should never get complacent and try and learn to live with it. Despite this study and despite other research done on the effectiveness of overweight individuals in the workplace there is nevertheless a stigma attached to being overweight which makes it much more difficult for obese people to find jobs.

Employers still put a great deal of emphasis on appearance and therefore overweight people are statistically more likely to be refused for a job than people of normal weight. It’s also worth noting that as there are so many people who have prejudiced views towards overweight people companies do not like to have front desk staff that are overweight because they are concerned that a lot of customers will think that this will not give a good impression for the company.