egruberman
Well-known Member
The fat computer nerd was a prevalent stereotype. Some people get obese from work that involves sitting down for long or not involving too many movements.. It isn't odd to find the obese developer, obese researcher, obese radiologist or even obese surgeon.
There are a number of genetic conditions that affect intelligence that also predisposed to obesity though.
I underwent a fair bit of testing as a youth and those folks doing the testing concluded that I was likely pretty sharp. I had some success in tech, probably as a result of that fact. During the height of my rise in my career, I was 340lbs, currently I'm 175 at 8-9% bf. I became so obese partly as a result of my obsession with my work, which required that I be sedentary most of the time.
I'm happy to say that's less common in tech these days, but the stereotype still exists. There's a person in my org that's falling into this trap who is brilliant. I wish there were some work-appropriate way that I could influence them into a healthier lifestyle.