Health Controversy: Texas Hospital Bans Obese Workers

A hospital in Texas is raising eyebrows over a new policy that bans the hiring of "obese" workers. If you don't meet certain BMI requirements, you can't get a job there. Thoughts?

Citizens Medical Center in Texas has reportedly instituted a policy that each new person they hire to work in their facilities (doctors, nurses, housekeeping--you name it) must have a body mass index of less than 35. That would mean about 210 pounds--tops--for a person who is 5'5'' tall.
(BTW, what do you think? Is this anti-obesity billboard offensive?)
The psychical appearance of employees, according to the new rules, “should fit with a representational image or specific mental projection of the job of a health care professional,” including an appearance “free from distraction” [for hospital patients].
Some say the new rule is fitting for a hospital who is invested in the health of its patients and employees, and yet others say it's going too far, and may even be discriminatory. Still, according to Fox News, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has said that these types of BMI restrictions are not, by definition, discrimination.