Study: ‘Weight-ism’ More Widespread Than Racism
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It’s illegal to discriminate against someone because of race or gender, but our culture condones a bias against people who are overweight.
There are no federal laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of weight, and only Michigan has such a law, according to a new study from Yale University.
As a result, the researchers contend, weight discrimination is spiraling upward, and that’s a dangerous trend that could add fuel to the obesity epidemic.
Weight discrimination “occurs in employment settings and daily interpersonal relationships virtually as often as race discrimination, and in some cases even more frequently than age or gender discrimination,” the researchers report in the current issue of the International Journal of Obesity.
{snip}
[Research scientist Rebecca Puhl, lead author of the study], who was trained as a clinical psychologist, and co-author Tatiana Andreyeva, studied data collected from 3,437 adults as part of a national survey conducted in 1995-1996. They have just updated the work in a disturbing paper showing that weight discrimination has accelerated through 2006.
Puhl, who has been studying weight discrimination for nine years, said our culture has made it clear that it’s wrong to discriminate against someone because of race, color, creed, gender, age and so forth, but that it’s OK to show someone the door because he or she is fat.
“We send a message to citizens in our culture that this is something that is tolerated,” she said. “We live in a culture where we obviously place a premium on fitness, and fitness has come to symbolize very important values in our culture, like hard work and discipline and ambition. Unfortunately, if a person is not thin, or is overweight or obese, then they must lack self-discipline, have poor willpower, etc., and as a result they get blamed and stigmatized.”
{snip}
Puhl emphasized that she isn’t saying people shouldn’t try to control their weight. Scores of studies have shown that excess weight contributes to a wide range of diseases, and physical fitness is one of our best bets for fighting everything from heart attacks to aging. But let’s face it, if diets worked, we would all be skinny. Many uncontrollable factors contribute to obesity, like genetics and some diseases, yet we still blame the individual.
{snip}
And it’s everywhere. A friend recently offered me one of those cookies sold by Girl Scouts in our community. The label on the box said one cookie has four grams of fat. And nobody eats just one Girl Scout cookie. It tastes great, it’s cheap and it’s for a worthy cause. But that little angel standing at your door is offering you a one-way ticket to obesity.
{snip}
Here are some of the findings in Puhl’s study:
# Men are not at serious risk of discrimination until their BMI reaches 35, while women begin experiencing an increase in discrimination at BMI 27.
# Moderately obese women with a BMI of 30 to 35 are three times more likely than men in the same weight group to experience weight discrimination.
# Compared to other forms of discrimination in the United States, weight discrimination is the third most prevalent cause of perceived discrimination among women (after gender and age) and the fourth most prevalent form of discrimination among all adults (after gender, age and race.)
{snip}
[Editor’s Note: “Perceptions of Weight Discrimination: Prevalence and Comparison to Race and Gender Discrimination in America,” by Rebecca Puhl, et al., can be read or downloaded both as an HTML and as a PDF file here. Purchase or subscription is necessary. The abstract appears below.]
(Posted on April 4, 2008)
Perceptions of Weight Discrimination: Prevalence and Comparison to Race and Gender Discrimination in America
R M Puhl,* T Andreyeva* and K D Brownell,* International Journal of Obesity, March 4, 2008
* Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
Correspondence: Dr RM Puhl, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, Yale University, 309 Edwards Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8369, USA. E-mail: rebecca.puhl@yale.edu
Received 13 September 2007; Revised 25 November 2007; Accepted 19 January 2008; Published online 4 March 2008.
Abstract
Objective:
Limited data are available on the prevalence and patterns of body weight discrimination from representative samples. This study examined experiences of weight/height discrimination in a nationally representative sample of US adults and compared their prevalence and patterns with discrimination experiences based on race and gender.
Method and procedures: Data were from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, a 1995–1996 community-based survey of English-speaking adults aged 25–74 (N=2290). Reported experiences of weight/height discrimination included a variety of institutional settings and interpersonal relationships. Multivariate regression analyses were used to predict weight/height discrimination controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and body weight status.
Results: The prevalence of weight/height discrimination ranged from 5% among men to 10% among women, but these average percentages obscure the much higher risk of weight discrimination among heavier individuals (40% for adults with body mass index (BMI) of 35 and above). Younger individuals with a higher BMI had a particularly high risk of weight/height discrimination regardless of their race, education and weight status. Women were at greater risk for weight/height discrimination than men, especially women with a BMI of 30–35 who were three times more likely to report weight/height discrimination compared to male peers of a similar weight.
Discussion: Weight/height discrimination is prevalent in American society and is relatively close to reported rates of racial discrimination, particularly among women. Both institutional forms of weight/height discrimination (for example, in employment settings) and interpersonal mistreatment due to weight/height (for example, being called names) were common, and in some cases were even more prevalent than discrimination due to gender and race.
Comments
“We obviously place a premium on fitness.”
Reminds me of the time they interviewed Peter Lawford on his idea of the perfect woman. “Slim, blonde and athletic…” he replied. Hard for a guy to argue with that logic. And that`s not “weightism, it`s a personal preference. Sometimes I wish I was Peter Lawford..
Posted by Tim Mc Hugh at 7:00 PM on April 4
I think more weight should be given to the need for heavier discrimination by race, but fat chance of that.
Posted by H. Dumpty at 7:42 PM on April 4
Am I now to be blamed for having moderate habits, not overeating, being drunk, or smoking; and judging others by their success or failure at living up to my standards.
Posted by PBL at 8:53 PM on April 4
“We send a message to citizens in our culture that this is something that is tolerated,” she said. “We live in a culture where we obviously place a premium on fitness, and fitness has come to symbolize very important values in our culture, like hard work and discipline and ambition. Unfortunately, if a person is not thin, or is overweight or obese, then they must lack self-discipline, have poor willpower, etc., and as a result they get blamed and stigmatized.”
Duh! That’s right! In reality, very few people are overweight as a result of hormones, glands, or big bones. It’s usually the result of a lack of control and poor choices. Sorry to sound harsh, but it’s true.
But I never discriminate against overweight people, I like being around them. They make me look good.
Posted by kitty at 9:00 PM on April 4
If an overweight someone is not hired or a black someone is not hired, why is weightism or racism their first thought? They must know that they could be/do better. They just want an easy excuse(that is backed by the government).
As many females, I have always fought to stay trim. It’s important to me. Being healthy looks good and it helps one have a better outlook on life.
Listen to your body, your internal cues.
God knows we need food. We shouldn’t try to overstep out bounds.
Posted by at 10:19 PM on April 4
Want to make something look precise and scientific? Add a lot of numbers followed by percent signs, and use a lot of dense jargon. The perception of “weight discrimination” would necessarily involve a lot of very personal, subjective judgments which are difficult or impossible to quantify exactly and which may or may not be accurate. Unfortunately, the fields of sociology and psychology are rife with such quackery.
Posted by Dwayne O. at 7:21 AM on April 5
People do draw negative conclusions about others based on weight, and it is wrong-headed. I am a size 14 and basically comfortable with that. I could deprive myself of foods that I enjoy and spend hours in the gym, but I am simply not willing to do that. The mistake people make is that they assume that this is because of a lack of discipline or will power, while the truth is that I just don’t care to conform to what society considers an ideal body size. When I do care to do something, I do it. I went to law school, passed with very good grades, passed two bar exams, and I became fluent in a foreign language and literate in another as an adult. I am now learning how to play a very difficult instrument and I practice every single day. I think my professional and personal accomplishments prevent me from being affected a great deal by weight prejudice, at least for now.
I just try to eat when I’m hungry, stop when I’m full, get some exercise on a regular basis, etc. But I refuse to obsess over counting calories, keeping a food diary, etc. That would just impoverish my life too much. My husband finds me attractive, and that is all that matters to me.
I would caution white nationalists against demeaning “fat” people. Otherwise, you are not really a white nationalist. White nationalists express solidarity with white people, not thin or beautiful people. Most white people do not fit the standard of beauty being shoved down our throats in the media, and if we alienate them white nationalism doesn’t stand a chance. Besides, many white women avoid child bearing to keep their “girlish figure”, which is terrible for white demographics.
Posted by sofita at 7:51 AM on April 5
I believe people should be free to practise any form of discrimination they want. Otherwise, if you start to ban one form of discrimination (for example, against race or sex), then you run the risk of the slippery slope. All forms of discrimination become suspect. Eventually, you won’t be able to fire anybody even on the basis of incompetence or criminality. The only person you could target for discrimination would have to be a discriminator himself.
Posted by at 10:58 AM on April 5
Does EVERY group have to be percieved as a victim? Since when were fat people lynched or gassed or told to sit in the back of the bus. I mean, if a girl doesn’t want to date me or I don’t want to date her, we’re both discriminating, yes?
Posted by at 12:37 PM on April 5
Any mention of weight makes a lot of people defensive; they then feel the need to tell their life stories, to explain why they’re heavy. As if anyone cares.
It’s better to focus on the medical costs of obesity, & the fact that a much higher percentage of blacks than whites are seriously overweight.
Posted by WaitNow at 2:15 PM on April 5
“Slim, blond and athletic.”
My high school girlfriend in a nutshell, but brilliant as well.
One of my college friends weighed 250 lbs when he graduated, which in my book is tragically overweight. He went to grad school out east and discovered he liked southern cooking, which put him up to 330. Fortunately, he also discovered he liked walking around Civil War One battlefields, and so went down to about 210.
I’ve never been over 170 in my life, and at just over 6’ tall, I weigh 155 pounds, married and about to hit age 42 in a week. My waistline has not changed since I was 17.
My ideological problems include, but are not limited to “racism”, “sexism”, “speciesism”, “homophobia”, greed, wrath, and the unwillingness to think a tattoo makes someone better-looking.
Being grossly overweight is an absolute tragedy for a human being. One of my best friends is 5’11” and 230 lbs. His ex-wife is fat, and their daughter is fat. They never looked happy to me, and he once told me he would trade places with me in a heartbeat. I made $6000 last year. With the house paid off, that actually works. He made $84,000 last year, and he rents an apartment.
Habits are what will make your life a wonderful experience, or absolutely ruin it. Eating more than you need is a bad one. One of my hobbies is cooking. My wife and I go out to eat only on our birthdays and our anniversary. Always sushi.
At 6’, I graduated high school at 135 pounds. I didn’t float back then, but sank like a stone in water. The heavist I’ve ever been was 170. I now run about 155. This has saved a bundle on clothing expenses, as I have been the same size my entire adult life.
When someone overeats, I doubt they are enjoying the food for what it is; they’re trying to fill a void.
Being fat is probably a symtom of clinical depression, so with the overweight problem, a fat job-seeker probably has many other unadressed issues that will surface under stress in the workplace.
Posted by Michael C Scott at 3:20 PM on April 5
Besides, many white women avoid child bearing to keep their “girlish figure”, which is terrible for white demographics.
Avoiding child bearing to stay thin does not work. Having or not having children seems to be totally irrelevant to a woman’s weight.
I have met very many women in their 40s who were feminists or left-wing and who never had children, and most of them are moderately to severely overweight. And I have also met several women also in their 40s who are traditional Catholics who have had several children. Some of them were still quite svelte.
Posted by at 3:54 PM on April 5
There’s an obesity epidemic taking place here in the U.S. It’s been getting worse over the last 10 or 15 years, this is the period that it has really ballooned (no pun intended). Walk down a street in any major city in the U.S. or ride a New York subway train and one can see them everywhere. It is not difficult to notice that Blacks and Hispanics but most particularly Blacks -MOST especially Black women - are as a group the most obese. Thirty or forty years ago when you saw a 5’2” woman who was 250 lbs. it was an aberration. Now it is commonplace - and they’re dangerous too. If you’re on a bus or subway train seated and one is standing over you it is usually a good idea to get up-especially if you are not a large person.
Blacks today are making more money than they ever have and it’s no accident that they’re the most overweight. A group with a lower IQ I believe behaves in this fashion. Before they buy houses, before they buy cars, before they buy clothes —— they buy food. Black women are also less feminine than White women and the extra size or weight gives them a sense of power, much like a man. According to CDC statistics the average Black woman is about 190 lbs., and I think even that weight is understated. I apologize for intimating that Blacks have a lower IQ, but it is no doubt the truth - as Jared might say - it is a racial reality.
Posted by Awakened at 12:39 AM on April 6
As a result, the researchers contend, weight discrimination is spiraling upward, and that’s a dangerous trend that could add fuel to the obesity epidemic.
Makes sense. It also explains why there are so many non-white people around these days. It’s all that racial discrimination adding fuel to the melanin epidemic.
Posted by AnalogMan at 6:33 AM on April 6
Has it ever occurred to these people that there might sometimes be legitimate reasons to discriminate against fat people? For example, I don’t like sitting next to them on an airplane. If I’m sitting in a hot tub at the gym, I don’t like it when fat people enter the tub because they often don’t (or can’t) clean between every roll of fat and I find that disgusting. If I’m considering hiring somebody, it might be important that the employee be quick on his feet, be able to stand for long periods of time, be able to fit into small places or easily climb ladders. If I’m looking for a room-mate, I’m likely to avoid fat people because they’re more likely to snore, to have body odor, to make more noise as they move around or because they are less pleasant to look at when partially clothed. Outside of such situations, however, we shouldn’t be judging people by their BMI or making life any harder for them than it already is.
It’s typical how the authors use racial discrimination as the ultimate evil by which everything else can be measured. All of us must deal with unknowns throughout our lives and discrimination is a valid way to deal with the unknown. That’s what insurance companies do.
Posted by jewamongyou at 8:22 PM on April 6
Awakened:
Then how can we account for the fact that 55% of White women in rural areas are obese?
Posted by Roger at 10:40 AM on April 7
What next? News that most people discriminate between tripe and steak, between a cute kitten and a dirty rat, between a house and a shack? One can insist on “equality” for the overweight as much as one likes, but the fact remains that being seriously overweight is unhealthy and naturally draws a negative reaction/
The cultural Marxists can insist that the bad is treated just the same as the good, the inferior the same as the superior, but they’ll never be able to totally enforce their fantasy view of the world.
Posted by Ed at 7:50 PM on April 7
Regardless of the assult on Americans by cheap junk food advertising and its easy avialibility, weight is something that is not inherent (except in rare cases). Weight can be managed with an intelligent lifestyle. Race and sex on the other hand can’t be changed - not really.
(The pregnant “man” actually has a uterus).
Posted by Whiteplight at 9:16 PM on April 8