Could the federal government be behind a movement of obesity discrimination in the workplace? Some are asserting that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) LEAN Works! program is boosting anti-fat sentiment at work by tying the costs of overweight employees to their bottom line. LEAN Works! provided employers with an obesity cost calculator, which allowed them to draw a parallel between the cost associated with the overweight employees and their financial losses. The CDC stated on their website that “many organizations realize the need to assess the cost of obesity as it relates to their bottom line” and revealed health care costs associated with obesity are over $140 billion annually, NBC News reported.It’s no secret that obese workers have been one of the main targets of more subtle workplace discrimination. A Vanderbilt Study even showed that overweight U.S. female workers earn around five percent less than average-sized women in similar jobs.”The obesity cost calculator allowed employers to input body mass indexes of their employees to see how it related to costs the company would incur in prescriptions, hospitalization, and work days lost. LEAN Works! is only fueling negative sentiments towards overweight employees and pinpointing who should be next on the chopping block when terminating employees. CDC officials have backed their program by asserting that it gives employers evidence-based resources for them to use in developing wellness programs that will benefit the health of all their employees.”To our knowledge, no organization has used the LEAN Works! tool to ‘target’ overweight workers for termination,” said Deborah A. Galuska, associate director for science at the CDC’s division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity said to NBC News. “Informing employers regarding the cost of obesity to their organization can help make the business case for providing a healthier work environment – one where nutrition and physical activity is valued. LEAN Works! is not intended to contribute to workplace discrimination.”