"Whole Foods to give greater employee discounts to workers with lower BMI"

There was a lot of hype generated on the internet when this information became public. There was a lot of speculation. Since this release, the New York Daily News has spelled out a bit more information.

When I first heard about discounts based on BMI, I was outraged. BMI is such an inexact science and it has led to many people developing an unhealthy relationship with their bodies and with food. I am still outraged, but from a slightly different angle, now that I know that Whole foods isn't presenting this idea to the public at large, but to their employees.

Other factors such as cholesterol levels and blood pressure play small roles in determining whether or not the employee is in shape, but a lot rests on the BMI.

There have been points made against this endeavor that have been brought to the table publicly already:

-Whole Foods is rewarding people who are naturally thin, and this can be seen as discrimination.

-In a way, they are judging people on how they look.

-As one man stated - a healthy eater who is "kinda chubby" has to pay more to continue eating healthy.

I agree with all of this. The entire policy can promote poor body image and it is discriminating against a portion of the population. It can also prevent people from buying foods that are healthy for them, because they are forced to pay more. Shifting the demand curve here does change someone's relationship to the food they eat.

Based on BMI alone, even if I had an extremely low fat percentage, the way my body is built means that I would still be off from my target number. My "ideal" weight is impossible to attain based on this scale. I realize this, but there are some people who do not and will try anything to reach it. Some go to the extreme and stop eating.

Something to think about: people pay a higher price if their BMI is high, but nothing happens if it is below the proper range. This is a dangerous line to follow.