Research
Weight Bias & Weight Stigma
People who have a higher body weight are vulnerable to stereotypes, bullying, bias, stigma, and discrimination in our society. Both children and adults with higher body weight face weight stigma in many aspects of daily life. These experiences can include unfair treatment in the workplace, inequities in health care, negative stereotypes in the media, barriers in education, and stigma in interpersonal relationships. These stigmatizing experiences are harmful, contributing to emotional distress and poor physical health, and reduced quality of life.
The Rudd Center aims to address weight-bias, stigma, and discrimination through research, education, and advocacy. Our research studies the nature and impact of this societal problem and strategies to help reduce and eliminate weight stigma and discrimination. As part of these efforts, we work to increase awareness of weight stigma and engage young people, families, teachers, employers, health care professionals, scientists, policymakers, and the media. To effectively address societal weight stigma, efforts are needed across all of these groups and societal settings. Below are informational resources about weight stigma and discrimination to help increase knowledge, awareness, and strategies to help tackle this prevalent societal problem.
Media Gallery
The way that persons with obesity are portrayed by the media profoundly shapes the public's understanding and attitudes about persons of higher weight. Television, movies, and social media often reinforce negative attitudes about body weight and perpetuate weight bias or weight stigma throughout our society. For example, characters with larger bodies depicted in popular TV shows and movies are often negatively stereotyped (e.g., portrayed as greedy, sloppy, or unpopular) and are seen in stereotypical roles (e.g., overeating unhealthy foods and being lazy).
There are important opportunities for the media to help reduce societal stigma of people with higher body weight. The Rudd Center has created resources to be used by media professionals, educators, and health professionals for the purpose of improving media content related to obesity and improving respectful portrayals of people of diverse body sizes.
Access the Gallery
Media Guidelines
The media is an important and influential source of information about obesity. The way that obesity, weight-loss and weight maintenance are portrayed, described, and framed by the media profoundly shapes the public's understanding and attitudes toward these important health issues and the individuals affect by them.
As a result, the Rudd Center, in partnership with the Obesity Society and Obesity Action Coalition, have created guidelines for media portrayals of individuals affected by weight bias or weight stigma.
Access the Guidelines
Recent Research
Research has consistently documented the adverse effects of parent weight-related comments on adolescent health. However, little research has examined how these conversations vary across sociodemographic groups, such as sex, race/ethnicity, or sexual orientation. This study found weight-related communication is prevalent among adolescents and parents across sociodemographic groups, but that significant variation was observed for sex, sexual orientation, and parental education.