Public opinion about laws to prohibit weight discrimination in the United States
This study conducted an online survey with a national sample of 1,001 adults (representing demographics of the United States) to examine public support for six potential legislative measures to prohibit weight discrimination in the United States. Results indicated substantial support (65% of men, 81% of women) for laws to prohibit weight discrimination in the workplace, especially for legal measures that would prohibit employers from refusing to hire, terminate, or deny promotion based on a person’s body weight. Laws that proposed extending the same protections to obese persons as people with physical disabilities received the least support, suggesting that Americans may not be in favor of considering obesity as a disability.
Full citation: Puhl RM, Heuer CA. Public opinion about laws to prohibit weight discrimination in the United States. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011;19(1):74-82. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2010.126