Obesity and Discrimination in the Work Place

Fact Sheet

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In a recent Yale University survey of about 2,000 overweight women, 53 percent of those polled said co-workers stigmatized them, and 43 percent said their employers stigmatized them.

-Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16755130/



Employment termination is often the result of prejudiced employers and arbitrary weight standards, where body weight is not related to job-related duties. Many terminated employees in existing cases also received good-to-excellent job performance ratings, suggesting the prejudiced employers are responsible.

-Source: Weight Bias and its Social, Economic and Health Impact (Rebecca Puhl, PHD and Kelly Brownell, PhD)



A study showed that teachers believed that obese persons are untidy (20%), more emotional (19%), less likely to succeed at work (17.5%), and more likely to have family problems (27%).

-Source: Weight Bias and its Social, Economic and Health Impact (Rebecca Puhl, PHD and Kelly Brownell, PhD)



It has been said that obese persons are the last acceptable targets of discrimination.

-Source: http://www.obesityresearch.org/cgi/content/full/9/12/788



54% of the U.S. population now overweight and 34% obese.

-Source: http://www.obesityresearch.org/cgi/content/full/9/12/788