Susan Cody: Yale Study Suggests Discrimination Against The Obese Is On The Rise

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Since more and more of us are overweight, you might think body acceptance would be more common. However, a Yale study shows this is not necessarily so.

Using 1100 subjects (ages 35-74), Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity gathered information on topics ranging from job discrimination, to housing, to name calling and other forms of harassment.

The only snag in this study is that there is no formal, documented proof of discrimination. The study relies on the perception of discrimination and was taken in two parts. The first tracked people in 1995 and 1996 and the second tracked the same people in 2004 and 2006. What the researchers found was that the rate of discrimination against these people went from 7% to 12% within those two time periods.

This study also shows that weight ranked third as the most prevalent form of discrimination (behind age and race). The authors suggest enacting laws to stop this form of bias, just like we have laws to prevent other forms of discrimination against race, gender etc.

You can read more about this study here

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1730150,00.html

And tell us -

Have you ever felt discriminated against because of your weight? Have you lost a job, been badly serviced or even felt bias from your family, due to your size? Do you feel we need new laws to protect obese people from prejudice and discrimination? Tell us your story.