Bias, stigma, and social consequences of obesity

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of the most prominent social consequences for adults and youth with obesity due to weight bias; summarize recent research on the impact of weight stigma on health, and identify promising avenues for preventing and reducing weight stigma. Through multiple pathways across institutional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal domains, stigma facilitates social and health inequities. The authors highlight two prominent domains in which weight stigma contributes to these disparities among adults with obesity: employment and health care. The anticipation, experience, and internalization of weight discrimination and stigmatization have profound effects on the mental and physical health of adults and youth with obesity. As stigma may occur at institutional, interpersonal, or intrapersonal levels, interventions can also be designed to target stigma at each of these levels.