The boss of a brokerage firm has been slammed for offering his employees an extra bonus - if they lose weight.
Nithin Kamath, CEO of Zerodha, tweeted about the “fun health programme” he was running with staff which tracked their Body Mass Index (BMI).
He wrote that the average BMI of people on his team was 25.3.
According to the NHS, a healthy BMI for adults is between 18.5-24.9, with anything over 25 being classed as overweight.
Mr Kamath, who is based in Bangalore, India, said those on his team with a BMI over 25 would receive a bonus of half their monthly salary.
But he added if staff members could get their BMI down to around the 24 mark, they would receive double the amount as a bonus.
Mr Kamath explained: “The lowest average BMI or the largest change in average BMI wins. The winner chooses a charity everyone else contributes to.”
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He also said he wanted to compete with other companies and asked other CEOs to let him know if they’d be issuing a similar incentive to staff.
Responding to the initiative, Twitter users slammed Mr Kamath for his “downright dangerous” policy.
One person wrote: “This is genuinely one of the worst things I have ever seen.
“It is absolutely none of your business what somebody does or doesn’t weigh, you have no idea if anybody involved has an eating disorder or what their relationship with food is.”
Another said: “This is serious discrimination and body shaming. There is nothing 'fun' about your program.
“Why should my pay or a bonus be linked to my body type? The only thing relevant is my work.”
Others pointed out that judging someone’s physical health solely using the BMI measurement isn’t always accurate.
The NHS website reads: “Muscle is much denser than fat, so very muscular people, such as heavyweight boxers, weight trainers and athletes, may be a healthy weight even though their BMI is classed as obese.”
Eating disorder charity Beat echoed the criticism of Mr Kamath’s incentive and said it could be incredibly dangerous for people living with eating disorders.
Tom Quinn, the charity’s director of external affairs, told The Mirror: “A weight loss competition with a financial reward for lowering BMI would be extremely damaging for people affected by eating disorders.
“Eating disorders are competitive illnesses and the chance to be rewarded for losing weight would be very attractive for someone unwell or vulnerable.
'It is also dangerous to assume that someone with a "normal" or higher BMI cannot be unwell with an eating disorder.
“They can affect people of any weight, and should be treated just as seriously regardless of the weight of the person affected.”
Responding to criticism online, Mr Kamath said: “We have experimented with a bunch of ideas since Covid and [working from home] to help the team think about their health.
“Sitting is the new smoking, & the idea has been to nudge everyone to move.”
He added the company had also taken on counsellors to help employees struggling with their mental health.
He said: “Health levels have dipped in the past two years due to [working from home] and the pandemic stress.
“So as a company, the onus is to do whatever to nudge everyone on the team to think about their health.”
Mr Kamath did not respond to The Mirror’s request for comment.
If you're struggling with an eating disorder, you can find help and support from charity Beat
