UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health

Overweight patients are not the only ones who suffer weight stigmatization in the doctor’s office, a Yale study finds. Physicians who are overweight or obese are vulnerable to biased attitudes from patients which could interfere with quality of care, according to a study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. The findings, published in the International Journal of Obesity, show that a provider’s excess weight negatively affects patients’ perceptions of his or her credibility, level of trust, and inclination to follow medical advice.