Same old song

I just wanted to say companies have always discriminated against obese people - and don't mention black obese people. I have worked in corporate America for 35 years and know how these companies systematically find ways to not hire obese people or to lay them off.

- Al Gripper

Image is everything

I had bypass surgery three months ago. Image is everything to some, and since I dropped 70 pounds, people look at me differently. Before I went unnoticed when I was looking for a job. Maybe now I'll have better luck.

- Gloria M.

Excuses, excuses!

With health care being what it is today, yes, it would be a problem hiring someone who is overweight. I cannot understand how and why someone would not want to do something about their weight problem when we have so many things to turn to to help us not be OBESE!

I was recently standing outside my yoga studio waiting for my ride. A nice-looking man strode up and asked me if there was a gym [there]. I told him it was a yoga studio. He told me that he did not know that "black people" practiced yoga. I told him he should come sometime, and he told me that he was too lazy, too old and so many other excuses it was really crazy.

Most people can think of so many excuses not to do a good thing for their bodies but not even one thing to motivate them to do something good for their bodies. Keep up the good work!

Ajay Jones

Watch those skinny b------

I am one of those overweight people who feels that I haven't received a job in the medical field due to my size. Let me tell you that you need to watch the little, skinny ones. They are the lazy ones - and sneaky! I could probably run laps in the office faster than any skinny person. Employers lose their businesses because they don't hire the right people with knowledge and skills.

- T. Collins

Not so pleasingly plump

Employers' concerns regarding obese job seekers are valid, depending on the industry. I don't want an obese person serving me at a restaurant. I feel they are less pleasant to look at and will be slower than a thin person. The latter is certainly not rational but I think it all the same.

In an office setting, I feel an obese secretary is a reflection on the company. Why couldn't they get a fit person to work here? Is something wrong with this company? Again, I realize my thoughts are ridiculous and were once applied to my race [I'm African-American]. But looks will always be a factor that can't be denied.

- Shawna Holts

I understand their pain

I am an obese white male, age 48. I have been in business since 1979, always self-employed. I now own a Yamaha dealership and numerous commercial properties. I have lived the life of discrimination for being overweight all of my adult years. I know the pain and the anxiety of dealing with the discrimination an a day-to-day basis.

One act of discrimination that your newspaper as well as every other major newspaper does: When they print an editorial cartoon about businesspeople stealing, politicians taking bribes or any act of corruption, they always make it a picture of an overweight person.

Maybe if people stopped their stereotypical discrimination against obese people, some might get the opportunity to get elected to public office or run a major corporation. We were led through World War II by two very heavy people - Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.

- Lance Mirkin

Kimberly Garrison is a certified personal trainer and owner of One on One Ultimate Fitness in Philadelphia (www.1on1ultimatefitness.com). E-mail her at

kimberly@1on1ultimatefitness.com. Her column appears each Thursday in Yo!