Social stigma of obesity is bias or discriminatory behaviors targeted at overweight and obese individuals because of their weight and high body fat percentage.[1][2] Such social stigmas can span one's entire life as long as excess weight is present, starting from a young age and lasting into adulthood.[3] Studies also indicate overweight and obese individuals experience higher levels of stigma compared to other people[who?].[4] Stigmatization of obesity is usually associated with increased health risks (morbidity) of being overweight or obese and the possibility of a shorter lifespan (mortality).
Obese people marry less often, experience fewer educational and career opportunities, and on average earn a lesser income than normal weight individuals.[3] Although public support regarding disability services, civil rights, and anti-workplace discrimination laws for obese individuals have gained support across the years, overweight and obese individuals still experience discrimination, which may have detrimental implications in relation to both physiological[5] and psychological health. These issues are compounded by the significant negative physiological effects that are already associated with obesity,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] which some have proposed may be caused in part by stress from the social stigma of obesity (or which may be made more pronounced as a result of that stress).[5]
Anti-fat bias refers to prejudicial assumptions that are based on an assessment of a person as being overweight or obese. It is also known as "fat shaming" or "fatphobia". Anti-fat bias can be found in many facets of society,[16] and fat activists commonly cite examples of mass media and popular culture that pervade this phenomenon.[17][18]
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^Ahern AL, Bennett KM, Hetherington MM (2008). "Internalization of the ultra-thin ideal: positive implicit associations with underweight fashion models are associated with drive for thinness in young women". Eating Disorders. 16 (4): 294–307. doi:10.1080/10640260802115852. PMID18568920. S2CID2473526.