You’re partially right. It should NOT be a measure of happiness or success would’ve been a better way to phrase it. A thinner person is much more likely to be paid more and to get promotions than a fatter, equally (if not more) qualified counterpart, especially if the person isn’t a cis, white man. So in that sense, yes, thinness can measure success. Which is twisted, but also true.

However, considering the unhealthy methods used by so many to obtain (and most importantly, maintain) weight loss I do not believe it is a reliable marker of happiness or success. Food restriction causes physiological and psychological responses that are often very stressful.

So at the very least, the author should’ve expanded on that. Did the people in question lose weight on purpose? Perhaps it was a coincidence. Maybe they lost a bit of weight because their improved finances led to dietary changes that influenced their weight (and, in those situations, most of the time weight is regained even with no further changes). Perhaps they were feeling more financially secure and joined gyms and again, early on, saw some weight loss as a result.

The point here being, we don’t know if the employees were even trying to lose weight or if they did and it was just automatically assumed to be a. intentional and b. something they viewed as a positive (versus being neutral or feeling negative about it).

Our culture’s obsession with thinness and weight loss means we view any weight loss as automatically good, often even seeing it as a “silver lining” to a serious illness. But not everyone who experiences weight loss is going to feel that way about it.