|
Yale study shows weight bias is as prevalent as racial discrimination
March 28, 2008Discrimination against overweight people-particularly women-is as common as racial discrimination, according to a study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University.
"These results show the need to treat weight discrimination as a legitimate form of prejudice, comparable to other characteristics like race or gender that already receive legal protection," said Rebecca Puhl, research scientist and lead author.
The study documented the prevalence of self-reported weight discrimination and compared it to experiences of discrimination based on race and gender among a nationally representative sample of adults aged 25- to 74-years-old. The data was obtained from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States.
The study also revealed that women are twice as likely as men to report weight discrimination and that weight discrimination in the workplace and interpersonal mistreatment due to obesity is common.
The researchers found that men are not at serious risk for weight bias until their body mass index (BMI) reaches 35 or higher, while women begin experiencing a notable increase in weight discrimination risk at a BMI level of 27. BMI is the measure of body fat based on height and weight.
Co-author Tatiana Andreyava of Yale said weight discrimination is more prevalent than discrimination based on sexual orientation, nationality/ethnicity, physical disability, and religious beliefs. "However, despite its high prevalence, it continues to remain socially acceptable," she said.
Yale University
The study also revealed that women are twice as likely as men to report weight discrimination and that weight discrimination in the workplace and interpersonal mistreatment due to obesity is common.
The researchers found that men are not at serious risk for weight bias until their body mass index (BMI) reaches 35 or higher, while women begin experiencing a notable increase in weight discrimination risk at a BMI level of 27. BMI is the measure of body fat based on height and weight.
Co-author Tatiana Andreyava of Yale said weight discrimination is more prevalent than discrimination based on sexual orientation, nationality/ethnicity, physical disability, and religious beliefs. "However, despite its high prevalence, it continues to remain socially acceptable," she said.
Yale University
Discrimination News and Current Discrimination Events RSSA new satellite remote sensing tool for improving agricultural land use observation
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) data indicate that annually 2500 km3 of freshwater are used for agricultural production, which amounts to 70% of the water resources the whole of humanity consumes in a year.
Teenage girls still experience harassment
Girls and women have made dramatic strides toward gender equality in the United States. Role models and opportunities for girls in science, technology, and sports exist today that were not available 50 years ago.
Racial discrimination has different mental health effects on Asians, study shows
The first national study of Asians living in the United States shows that for some individuals, strong ties to their ethnicity can guard against the negative effects of racism.
Climate change threats to HIV rates
Social factors, including economic pressures caused by climate change, could lead to an increase in HIV infection rates world-wide, warns a leading researcher from the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
NYU Researchers id new class of photoreceptors,pointing to new ways sights-and smells-are regulated
The identification of a new class of photoreceptors in the retina of fruit flies sheds light on the regulation of the pigments of the eye that confer color vision, researchers at New York University's Center for Developmental Genetics report in a new study appearing in the Public Library of Science's journal, PloS Biology.
Scientists Find a Fingerprint of Evolution Across the Human Genome
The Human Genome Project revealed that only a small fraction of the 3 billion "letter" DNA code actually instructs cells to manufacture proteins, the workhorses of most life processes. This has raised the question of what the remaining part of the human genome does. How much of the rest performs other biological functions, and how much is merely residue of prior genetic events?
Study finds that discrimination varies by gender and race
Men are more likely to tolerate discrimination than women, however both sexes tend to accept prejudice against poorly educated immigrants and Arab-American airplane travelers, according to a study by the USC-Caltech Center for the Study of Law and Politics.
Researchers urge ethics guidelines for human-genome research
A global team of legal, scientific and ethics experts have put forward eight key recommendations to establish much needed guidelines for conducting human-genome sequencing research.
Need for federal protection against genetic discrimination
A policy monograph highlighting the need for federal protections against genetic discrimination in employment and insurance practices was released today by the American College of Physicians (ACP).
Counselors should target discrimination and be advocates for transgender clients
Two University of Oregon doctoral students dove into issues of transgender identities -- in the workplace and professional counseling -- and surfaced with a call for psychologists and vocational counselors to not only treat but to act as advocates for their clients -- and to help end discrimination in the workplace.
More Discrimination News Articles
 | Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama |
 | I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou |
 | The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy |
 | A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League by Ron Suskind |
 | The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid |
 | Mudbound by Hillary Jordan |
 | Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom, Updated Edition by Lisa Delpit |
 | On the Laps of Gods: The Red Summer of 1919 and the Struggle for Justice That Remade a Nation by Robert Whitaker |
 | The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America by Jonathan Kozol |
 | Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor (California Series in Public Anthropology, 4) by Paul Farmer |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |