Should the Surgeon General be Slender?

The headline on the Washington Post magazine read “Should the surgeon general be Slender? President Obama recently appointed Regina Benjamin as the surgeon general and she is fat. Yes, I said the “F” word and don’t want to sugar coat it with one of those other words people often use to describe fat people, such as thick, plump, big boned , voluptuous etc.
What surprises me is that this is even an issue. The question should be “is she qualified”? Shouldn’t we be looking at her resume instead of her waistline? Not hiring a qualified person for a job because they are too fat (thin, black, white, short etc) is considered discrimination! This is not the first time a surgeon general has been over weight and I understand that a slender surgeon general would make a better role model, but would you prefer a less qualified surgeon general who was thin?

According to the surgeon general being fat cost America $117 billion a year in health care costs. Maybe the new surgeon general should lose some weight and help motivate American's to do the same!