Vocal Voices

The EU's top court has a case where it is being asked to define whether obesity is a disability. If it finds in favour its ruling will be enforceable throughout the EU and could lead to such things as reserved car parking spaces for obese staff, office furniture built specifically for them, and many, many, other things.

I hope it throws the case out. Obesity, for the overwhelmingly vast majority of people, is not an illness or a syndrome: it is self-inflicted. It is time for people to take responsibility for their own affairs, and not only health, rather than them being protected by the system and its stupid laws.

No it isn't a disability per se, but I do think for many that food is an addiction.

The NHS should IMO put their money into therapy for the obese to discover just why they overeat to such an extent. Much cheaper and certainly far safer!

Kaz, I agree that food can be addictive, and there are a lot of theories as to why that might be. My favourite is the one about the addictive properties of all the additives put into processed food, but that's just me.

However, classifying obesity itself as a disability is a step too far, even though it can lead to disabilities in the real sense. Think of the impact it could have in terms of the Disability Discrimination Act. I mentioned a few in my OP, but there will be others: parking slots at supermarkets; special seating on all forms of transport and in cinemas and theatres, the list goes on. With 51% of UK adults now classed as overweight (23% obese) its impact will be far reaching. Also, who will define what clinical obesity is? How will it be decided and by whom?

There are plenty of people who are overweight, or obese, and who are not disabled in any way. Yes, we should be doing more, as a country, to get our weight down, but that is a different problem. Pigeon-holing us all as disabled is not the way to go, imo.

No I'm agreeing with you, it shouldn't be classed as a disability

Kaz wrote:
The NHS should IMO put their money into therapy for the obese to discover just why they overeat to such an extent.

Because they're greedy ?

It has been considered a disability in the States for the last twenty years, when I leArned this from my late son I stated England will be the next in line. Looks like I was not far wrong.