Obesity is a disability, rules the EU

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30529791

Obesity is a disability, rules the EU

Obesity can constitute a disability within European law, the EU's highest court has ruled.

The European Court of Justice was asked to rule on the case of a male childminder in Denmark who says he was sacked for being too fat.

The court said that if obesity could hinder "full and effective participation" at work then it could count as a disability.

The ruling is binding across the EU.

The case centres around childminder Karsten Kaltoft who weighs about 160kg (25 stone).

He brought a discrimination case against his employers of 15 years, Billund local authority, after he was sacked.

The authority said a fall in the number of children meant Mr Kaltoft was no longer required.

'No problems'

But Mr Kaltoft said he was dismissed because he was overweight.

Earlier this year he told the BBC that reports he was so fat he was unable to bend low enough to tie children's shoelaces was untrue.

Describing his work with children, he said: "I can sit on the floor and play with them, I have no problems like that.

"I don't see myself as disabled. It's not OK just to fire a person because they're fat, if they're doing their job properly."

The Danish courts asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to clarify whether obesity was a disability.

The ECJ ruled: "The Court finds that if, under given circumstances, the obesity of the worker entails a limitation which results in particular from physical, mental or psychological impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder the full and effective participation of that person in professional life on an equal basis with other workers, and the limitation is a long-term one, such obesity can fall within the concept of 'disability' within the meaning of the directive."

Rulings from the European Court of Justice are binding for all EU member nations.

The courts in Denmark will now have to assess Mr Kaltoft's weight to see if his case can be classed as a disability.

'Wider seats'

Jane Deville Almond, the chairwoman of the British Obesity Society, said obesity should not be classed as a disability.

She told the BBC: "I think the downside would be that if employers suddenly have to start ensuring that they've got wider seats, larger tables, more parking spaces for people who are obese, I think then we're just making the situation worse.

"[It is] implying that people have no control over the condition, rather than something that can be greater improved by changing behaviour."

Paul Callaghan, head of employment law at international law firm Taylor Wessing, said the ruling does not change UK law.

"The European Court of Justice has ruled that obesity itself is not a disability, but that the effects of it can be.

"As such, workers who suffer from, for example, joint problems, depression, or diabetes - specifically because of their size - will be protected by the European Equal Treatment Framework Directive and cannot be dismissed because of their weight."

So now you have a disability if you've had one too many McDonalds.

Y'know you can rightly criticise the crazy EU for this, but the maniacs in our courts & government are only one step behind.

Thoughts?

[AgnesIO]

Surely they are technically correct...

Personally, I don't think that means they deserve any free cash, BUT they are indeed disabled - through their own fault or not.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Surely they are technically correct...

Personally, I don't think that means they deserve any free cash, BUT they are indeed disabled - through their own fault or not.

Class it as disabled (as though it is not their own problem) and you open up a legal minefield.

[AgnesIO]

Class it as disabled (as though it is not their own problem) and you open up a legal minefield.

Definition: (of a person) having a physical or mental condition that limits their movements, senses, or activities.

According to that definition, whether you - or I - like it, an obese person IS disabled. There is no reference to being self-induced or not, so they are technically disabled. The only difference is, many obese people could find a cure by going for a run.

[Chippiewill]

If we don't class them as disabled then we've redefined disabled and we all know you don't like redefining words dan.

[buttons]

i feel like its a mockery to other disabled people. imagine being disabled and there's an obese person sitting somewhere you need to sit but they have the right because they're legally disabled. that's where problems start.

The ECJ ruled: "The Court finds that if, under given circumstances, the obesity of the worker entails a limitation which results in particular from physical, mental or psychological impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder the full and effective participation of that person in professional life on an equal basis with other workers, and the limitation is a long-term one, such obesity can fall within the concept of 'disability' within the meaning of the directive."

i understand the physical part but the mental and psychological impairment comes from stigma from society, not from their 'disability'.

thankfully it doesn't seem like fat people actually want to take advantage of the label as you often hear them saying they are just as capable of doing the same work as a slimmer person and they don't want to be classed as disabled or unable to work.

[Kyle]

i understand the physical part but the mental and psychological impairment comes from stigma from society, not from their 'disability'.

this is a catch all for all physical disabilities, not just obesity. it still stems from the disability itself.

about time this ruling was made imo, I think a lot of people are generalising A LOT (u shouldnt eat 2 much mcdonalds... rly?)and being very unfair to people who are at a clear disadvantage in society because of the chronic issues that their obesity has caused.

[The Don]

Schools should do more to make children aware of what a healthy diet is and how weight gain is caused (the body consuming a surplus of calories). They should also teach children what a healthy weight is because unfortunately many people seem to have a skewed idea of what being overweight looks like or the causes of it. At my school I was taught that to lose weight all you needed to do was exercise, which is fundamentally incorrect as exercising won’t help if you’re eating unhealthy meals everyday. It's clear parents are either unwilling or incapable of teaching children this themselves (shown by the ever increasing amount of obese children). I do fear that labelling obesity as a disability will take responsibility off the hands of those that are obese because most people associate a disability as something which cannot be helped whereas obesity, in almost all cases, is entirely self inflicted. Labelling it as a disability will see people using it as a scapegoat. This does nothing but perpetuate the general publics ignorance surrounding obesity and what causes it. Obviously obese people are at a disadvantage to healthy sized individuals and are, by the very definition of the word, disabled. I think labelling it as a self-inflicted disability is more appropriate rather than eliminating any self-responsibility by grouping it with genetic and hereditary conditions. Before anyone starts talking about obesity being caused by a slow metabolism or thyroid problems, I’m talking specifically about obesity caused by overeating. None of what I’ve said applies for the rare case where the weight gain is caused by an actual diagnosed health problem, such as an underactive thyroid.

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Definition: (of a person) having a physical or mental condition that limits their movements, senses, or activities.

According to that definition, whether you - or I - like it, an obese person IS disabled. There is no reference to being self-induced or not, so they are technically disabled. The only difference is, many obese people could find a cure by going for a run.

This is the problem. There needs to be a way to distinguish self-inflicted disabilities from those which cannot be helped.

[GommeInc]

Actually the ECJ stopped short of making a decision on whether or not obesity is a disability - the case in question passed the decision making process back to the Danish Court from whence it came - suggesting that it is for the domestic court to decide if there was unfair dismissal - NOT the Court of the European Union. So no, the decision isn't binding on all EU nations seeing as a Danish Court cannot have binding precedent on the UK, for example.

It can give rise to discrimination in an employment context, was the actual decision. Employers should promote healthy lifestyles and provide support for obese employees. There was recognition of the possibility of it being a disability in certain situations (again up for the domestic courts to decide), but not full recognition.

EDIT:
"In some cases..." makes it pretty obvious obesity isn't a disability in general. It requires context - does obesity make it difficult for x to work? Then yes it is - which makes sense if it reduces mobility.

[Kyle]

Schools should do more to make children aware of what a healthy diet is and how weight gain is caused (the body consuming a surplus of calories). They should also teach children what a healthy weight is because unfortunately many people seem to have a skewed idea of what being overweight looks like or the causes of it. At my school I was taught that to lose weight all you needed to do was exercise, which is fundamentally incorrect as exercising won’t help if you’re eating unhealthy meals everyday. It's clear parents are either unwilling or incapable of teaching children this themselves (shown by the ever increasing amount of obese children). I do fear that labelling obesity as a disability will take responsibility off the hands of those that are obese because most people associate a disability as something which cannot be helped whereas obesity, in almost all cases, is entirely self inflicted. Labelling it as a disability will see people using it as a scapegoat. This does nothing but perpetuate the general publics ignorance surrounding obesity and what causes it. Obviously obese people are at a disadvantage to healthy sized individuals and are, by the very definition of the word, disabled. I think labelling it as a self-inflicted disability is more appropriate rather than eliminating any self-responsibility by grouping it with genetic and hereditary conditions. Before anyone starts talking about obesity being caused by a slow metabolism or thyroid problems, I’m talking specifically about obesity caused by overeating. None of what I’ve said applies for the rare case where the weight gain is caused by an actual diagnosed health problem, such as an underactive thyroid.

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This is the problem. There needs to be a way to distinguish self-inflicted disabilities from those which cannot be helped.

Distinguishing disabilities from one another so that groups can take some sort of moral high ground just complicates things further. Obesity is a problem, self inflicted or not. It's known to cause a number of officially recognised impairments and as such gives rise to complications where employment legislation is concerned, what this would do is to increase opportunities for the fatties who are being discriminated against in work and employment situations because of their bmi. From what I understand, workers might be denied a job because they're fat and an employer assumes that they aren't up to it, but now employers will have to give good reasons for employing/denying individuals and do their best to accommodate for those of all shapes and sizes (literally) or face legal repercussions.