An English railway company has been forced to apologise after one of their staff members recorded a passenger's appearance as being of a 'fat build'.
The description was made by the ticket inspector after 28-year-old Natasha Kaur had a disagreement on the train regarding a ticket. Ms Kaur had an expired ticket that she had believed was still valid.
The railway company attempted to fine Ms Kaur £160 for the infringement but have since apologised for the way she was described by the ticket inspector.
The inspector's description in his note said:
"White female, about 5ft 6ins tall, fat build, long black hair."
Ms Kaur suffers from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which causes hormonal imbalances and makes losing weight difficult. She is a UK dress size 18.
Ms Kaur told reporters at the UK's Daily Mail newspaper:
"I felt so upset, I burst straight into tears. I said to my mum 'How dare someone call me that? You can't just call someone that'. I couldn't get my head around why someone would say that about me, so I made a complaint."
Ms Kaur added:
"It's really triggered my anxiety. I now feel like when I'm on a train everyone is looking at me. The word fat is not acceptable."
A psychologist, Dr Angela Alberga, from Concordia University in Canada, said that such incidents can have a really damaging effect on the well-being of others and cause them to gain more weight. She said:
"You actually experience a form of stress. Cortisol spikes, self-control drops and the risk of binge eating increases."
A spokesperson for South Western Railways said:
"At SWR, we take a zero tolerance approach to derogatory or abusive language of any kind. The phrasing used in this statement was unacceptable and not in keeping with our training on the use of respectful language. We have already apologised to the customer, and would like to do so again today. We have investigated this matter fully and taken the appropriate action."
[h/t: Daily Mail]
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