Woman Compares BMI With Coworker During Office Chat, Now She’s Being Accused Of Fat-Shaming At Work
The three-letter acronym that destroyed a workplace friendship in under sixty seconds.
Someone in the office chat decided to turn a weight conversation into a numbers game, and now the coworker is claiming she got “fat-shamed” at work. It’s the kind of workplace drama that starts with a casual joke and ends with everyone side-eyeing each other in the break room. The coworker mentioned her BMI was 37, and when OP shared hers as 36, the situation spiraled anyway. The mess is that BMI talk might feel straightforward to one person, but to the other person it can land like a personal attack, especially in a setting where you are supposed to keep things professional.
Here’s the part that makes it stick in everyone’s head: the conversation was “just” numbers, but the fallout wasn’t.
Let’s dig into details
Reddit.comOriginal Post
Reddit.comOriginal Post
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Original Post
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We gathered some interesting comments from the Reddit community
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“This whole scenario is super inappropriate for work.”
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“A bmi above 35 is morbidly obese. I don’t understand what the argument is even about.”
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“NTA. A bmi of 37 is 2nd level obese, a bmi of 40 and above is 3rd level and the highest.”
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This gets messy fast, just like the sister who skipped a family event after her sister’s weight comments.
“You're both obese tbh. Over 30 is obese, that's the actual term of it.”
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“NTA just as you said, she stated that her bmi is 37 so you continued the conversation by replying that yours is 36.”
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“If someone is so sensitive over their weight, I don't understand why they would talk about it with others.”
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“NTA but it’s weird for her to be comparing weight if she doesn’t feel comfortable talking about both of your experiences.”
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“It’s her insecurity that made her uncomfortable, it’s an unfortunate situation…”
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“NTA because it was an accident with no intent. Technically it was implied that she was obese. Yes.”
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“It's not like you were fat shaming her. She dug herself that hole.”
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The office chat starts out normal, then the moment BMI 37 and 36 get thrown around, the whole tone changes.
When OP replies in the same context with her own BMI, the coworker apparently hears something harsher than “sharing experiences.”
After the coworker accuses her of fat-shaming, the Reddit comments basically split between “it was an accident” and “why bring it up at work at all.”
Now the real question is whether OP should have filtered the BMI comparison, when the coworker already opened the door with her own number.
She was responding within the same context and sharing her own experience. But weight and BMI aren’t neutral for everyone, even when numbers are being discussed openly.
What feels like a simple comparison to one person can feel personal to someone else, especially when it hits close to how they see themselves.
So the real question is about awareness.
When conversations go in that direction, how much responsibility is there to filter what you say?
Share your thoughts with us…
Nobody expects a BMI comparison to turn into a workplace accusation.
Not the only one who snapped back at weight-related comments, check out the woman who finally shut down her coworker over lunch remarks.
