Renowned for its beer and fatty sausage, the state of Bavaria has told portly trainees and teachers on contracts that they will not get jobs unless they lose weight.
Gisela Neubauer, 32, is the latest to be told she has to slim down. The 5ft 4in grammar-school teacher tips the scales at 87kg (nearly 14 stone). Her height-weight ratio or body mass index is 33 which, she has been told, is “too high”. Within the next two years she must lose 10kg (22lb) or forgo the civil service status and generous perks that go with a permanent job.
All 16 German states insist teachers entering the civil service must be in good health, but only in Bavaria does the law specify a maximum body mass index of 30 as a condition of civil service status - a figure which would effectively bar one in 10 of all Bavarians over the age of 18 from teaching.
The Bavarian authority says the obese have a higher risk of cardio-vascular diseases and problems of the joints and the back which lead to huge costs for the state when teachers fall sick or retire early.
“I see a big difference between being ill and being overweight,” says Ms Neubauer, who stresses she is in good health.
“But now I am really under pressure, because it sounds quite easy to lose 10kg in two years but believe me, it isn’t. Last year I did sports three times a week and did not lose one single kilo.”
And what of teachers who put on weight after obtaining coveted civil service status?
“Have a look in our staffrooms. There are many overweight teachers, even sports instructors. But the state is not interested anymore. They have civil servant status already and they can’t be dismissed,” says Ms Neubauer.
The Bavarian Teachers’ Association has helped teachers fight their cases in the courts, but with little success.
