Theodore Kyle and Rebecca Puhlare are participants on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Roundtable on Obesity Solutions. In a new commentary, Kyle and Puhlare examine the negative impact of weight bias on finding solutions to the obesity epidemic.
In the paper the authors describe the how weight bias, an often neglected issue, impedes progress toward evidence-based solutions to obesity. They maintain it also leads to adverse health outcomes for children and adults since those who face weight bias are more likely to avoid health care, engage in unhealthy eating behaviors, increase food consumption, avoid physical activity, and experience elevated stress.
The authors state that this form of bias is pervasive in many domains of living, including employment settings, health care, educational institutions, the media, and interpersonal relationships.