Obesity, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, has become the second most-common preventable cause of death in the United States after cigarette smoking. It accounts for about 300,000 deaths a year and is linked to diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. It affects people in all socio-economic groups, but rates are highest in low-income groups.

Low-income groups are more susceptible to obesity than the rich. A shortage in income prevents people from obtaining healthy food options. Fresh food choices such as fruits, and vegetables are expensive and are not readily available. On the other hand, frozen, pre-packaged unhealthy food is cheap and readily affordable. Kraft's mac and cheese, and corn bread are examples of unhealthy foods readily consumed in the market, either out of convenience or lack of economic resources. One's geographic location also influences health. High crime rates, lack of sidewalks, and parks prevent people from getting exercise outdoors. Community influences also play a key role in influencing ones health. Trust and social cohesion in a community encourage people to leave their homes and get exercise outdoors. Social cohesion enables people to encourage one another to participate in community activities such as sports leagues or other fitness related activities.

Obesity is not only caused by socio-economic problems; it also leads to lower wages. Employers are more likely to discriminate against obese people and give them lower wages. In fact, research has also shown that women's wages are more responsive to obesity than men, meaning that obese women on average are more likely to receive lower wages as compared to men.

Being a woman, this infuriates me a lot. The labor market is already discriminatory towards women, since men still get paid higher wages today than women do. Does society really need to concentrate on the appearances of women in the labor market? In Hollywood this concept does not sound absurd because both men and women in part are paid on the basis of their looks and appearances. Discrimination of women on the basis of appearance and weight beyond health reasons is unfair especially if these women belong to low-income groups. These women, irrespective of their weight, should be given fair wages especially since they are not well off to begin with. Offering them less wages is discriminatory and unfair.

It is unfair that low-income groups suffer not only poor economic conditions but are also faced with social problems which debilitate their conditions further. Moreover it is also unfair that these disadvantaged groups are discriminated against in terms of wages, a crucial factor that could fix their present condition.