Overweight Britons ‘face discrimination at work’

People who are overweight are missing out on job opportunities through discrimination, with employers assuming they will be “lazy” or lack self control, a new survey has found.

According to research from Slimming World and YouGov, overweight individuals in work are four times more likely to be the victim of bullying due to their weight and twice as likely to earn a low salary as their colleagues.

Furthermore, it was found they were six times more likely to feel their appearance had led to them being overlooked for a promotion.

Meanwhile, one in four male employers admitted they would turn down a potential candidate for a job due to their weight, while one in ten respondents claimed to have already done so.

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Dr Jacquie Lavin, Slimming World’s head of nutrition and research, said: “This survey provides one of the greatest indications yet of the scale of obesity discrimination in the workplace.”

She added it was “disappointing” to find one in four people have suffered negative comments about their weight while at work.

Last year, a survey by the group revealed one in three morbidly obese individuals have been criticised about their weight by a stranger.