Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity — News & Events — Recent Publications
Puhl RM, Heuer CA. The stigma of obesity: A review and update. Obesity. 2009 Jan.
Obese individuals are highly stigmatized and face multiple forms of weight-based prejudice and discrimination. This paper provides an update of scientific evidence on weight bias toward overweight and obese adults through a systematic review of published literature since the original review on this topic published in 2001 by Puhl & Brownell. Findings of this review indicate that weight bias remains a persistent social problem in settings of employment, health care, and education. Expanding beyond these domains, recent studies also demonstrate the presence of weight bias in the media and in close interpersonal relationships. In addition, the emerging literature shows that weight bias poses significant threats to emotional and physical health of obese individuals. The need for stigma-reduction interventions and other important avenues for future research are highlighted, with attention to key research questions that can help move the field forward.
See Table 1. Summary of key findings and evidence to date. p. 8.
