NPR: Fatism More Widespread than Racism?

Fatism More Widespread than Racism?

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A new report in the current issue of the International Journal of Obesity suggests that weight discrimination is on the rise.

"Overweight women are twice as vulnerable as men, and discrimination strikes much earlier in their lives," the report states.

The reason used by some to justify the bias: weight is modifiable, race isn't.

The study offers these findings:

-- Men are not at serious risk of discrimination until their body mass index (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.

ABC News has more analysis. What is your experience with weight discrimination? Is it more culturally accepted than racial bias?

Geoffrey Bennett

Tags: discrimination

12:53 PM ET | 04- 2-2008 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

Honestly, as a fat, Black woman I'm not sure I could break it down like that. Sure I'm discriminated against. Unfortunately people don't tell them which of those attributes offends them more. I can just see it now, "Oh I don't mind that you're fat or a woman, but I just can't hire you because you're Black," or "Excuse me, I'm going to follow you around this bodega, but I want you to know it's not because you're Black, it's because you're fat and I'm afraid you're going to steal some Twinkies."

Discrimination sucks and I can't see that any one form of it is that much more offensive or acceptable than any other.

Sent by Fat Lady | 1:45 AM ET | 04-03-2008

racial discrimination sucks, yes, but being discriminated is not the same. you cant help that youre black but youre still a fatass and theres a very good chance youre going to steal some twinkies.

Sent by k | 10:33 PM ET | 04-03-2008

K, thanks for proving Fat Lady's point.

Sent by Lalita Amos | 10:37 AM ET | 04-05-2008

"A gene that contributes to obesity has been identified for the first time, promising to explain why some people easily put on weight while others with similar lifestyles stay slim.

People who inherit one version of the FTO gene rather than another are 70 per cent more likely to be obese, British scientists have discovered."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article1647178.ece

So much for saying that one can choose not to be fat.

Sent by Mary-Anne Wolf | 6:28 PM ET | 04-18-2008

what would a 27 BMI look like? I can't even imagine that being "overweight". that's the kind of insanity that we're dealing with here.

Sent by lorraine | 1:25 AM ET | 05-04-2008

As an overweight female in my late teens, I can tell you it's not easy living in this world as who I am. People throw trash at me as I walk down the street, gym teachers are twice as hard on me as other students, and I'm generally ignored by the public unless someone has a snide comment to make to me. Even my own parents are hard on me, and they're both just as overweight as I am. If it isn't my father telling me I need to lose weight everyday of my life, it's my mother laughing at my behind whenever she's behind me or her setting me up on blind dates telling the boy that I'm an 'EXTREMELY large girl'. Come to find out later what she was telling them was that I was over six feet tall and more than 300lbs...

Sent by Escape | 11:12 AM ET | 06-02-2008

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