Increase in Public Support for Laws Prohibiting Weight Discrimination

July 8, 2014

A recent study conducted by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity found that public support for laws prohibiting weight discrimination increased between 2011 and 2013.

Overweight or obesity affects more than two-thirds of adults in the United States. These individuals are more likely  to be victims of stigma and discrimination based on their excess weight. Society often stereotypes and labels persons with obesity as lazy, undisciplined, and lacking willpower. This type of stigma and discrimination extends to every facet of life and is both financially and emotionally harmful.

Weight discrimination is often prevalent in employment:

  • including unfair hiring practices
  • wrongful termination
  • lower wages
  • and biased performance evaluations as compared to co-workers with comparable qualifications.

"Currently, only one state (Michigan) and several localities across the US (San Francisco and Santa Cruz in CA, Washington, DC, Madison, WI, Urbana, IL and Binghamton, NY) have passed laws to prohibit weight discrimination, most of which include weight or appearance as a protected class in their existing civil and human rights statutes"

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(Suh, Puhl, Liu, & Fleming Milici, 2014)

Public Support is Key

Public support is key in furthering any policy initiatives to prohibit weight discrimination. The study found that 60% of individuals supported overall policies to reduce weight discrimination. Support was consistent in matters of legal measures initiated through existing civil rights statutes, disability protections, and workplace discrimination legislation. Support was highest, 75%, for laws prohibiting workplace discrimination. Protection could be extended to individuals by adding body weight as a protected class covered by civil rights statutes, and by extending current disability protections to individuals affected by obesity.

Researchers cite the 2013 American Medical Association (AMA) classification of obesity as a disease, as one possible reason for the increase in public support for anti-discrimination policies.

Source: Suh, Y., Puhl, R., Liu, S., & Fleming Milici, F. (2014). Support for Laws to Prohibit Weight Discrimination in the United States: Public Attitudes from 2011 to 2013. Retrieved from Yale Rudd Center: http://yaleruddcenter.org/resources/upload/docs/what/bias/Support_Weight_Bias_Policies_Obesity_4.14.pdf