ABSTRACT
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 requires that employers make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled people to obtain and remain in work. The Act applies at all stages of employment: recruitment, promotion, opportunities for training and selection for redundancy. The impact of excess weight on mobility occurs due to several variables including age, co-existing osteoarthritis and respiratory capacity. Obesity may indirectly cause problems with mobility through reduced cardiac output, strokes and the complications of diabetes. The longer a person has been obese, the more likely the obesity will have created abnormal forces on their knees, making osteoarthritis more likely. Obesity itself also carries with it an increased risk of osteoarthritis through a general effect over and above that of mechanical forces directly on knee joints. Changes to work tasks can, inadvertently, exacerbate the problem of obesity. Medically, the cornerstone of obesity management is to increase physical activity and reduce calorie intake.
