Discrimination against heavy people by prospective employers is nothing new. In today's environment, however, it can take some new forms.

Where my DD is employed, a woman was force feeding herself to eat up to the weight requirement for qualifying for gastric bypass surgery. She was outspoken about not even trying to lose the weight on her own because her benefits would pay for the surgery. Here you have not just the cost of the procedure to consider but the additional time off work cost to the employer as well. If things don't go as well as hoped, more time off work and health care expense for the employer down the road.

In the last few days I saw a segment on the TV show "I Lost It" about a young woman who weighed over 300 pounds. She was so depressed about her weight that she had begun cutting her wrists when she changed her mind and called 911 instead. How she helped herself, according to the show, was by getting a job first and gastric bypass surgery second. This woman had not been employed before, she lived at home with her mother and had spent most of her time partying. I have to think that the reason she got a job first and GBS second, was because her employment benefits covered the procedure.

Benefit package costs for employees is a very serious matter for today's employers. I'm not saying that your experience with LB was because they are trying to avoid possibly having to pay for a new associate's GBS down the road. I'm just mentioning that it might be something to think about from the other side of the obesity discrimination point of view. GBS is a fast growing industry that appeals to a great number of people today who would rather not or otherwise cannot try weight loss on their own for varying reasons. Just my $.02.