Discrimination due to Weight Gain – How it Affect both Men and Women

Discrimination due to Weight Gain is prevalent in many societies. You need to get professional help to get your life back.

It is regrettable that at this point of time people are still living under certain siege of discrimination because of some health conditions that could be avoided like weight gain and obesity. Discrimination of obese people is a common phenomenon the world over with US being extreme. I will be discussing some of the effects of this uncalled for habit and offer you solutions so that you can live your life freely and void of discrimination in anyway. People who are affected by excess weight or obesity experience discrimination across a wide variety of settings, including healthcare, employment, schools, public transport sector, social amenities joints and interpersonal relationships.

Social discrimination

Let us consider the employment settings, job seekers who are affected by excess weight or obesity are often less likely to secure job opportunities or even be recommended for promotion compared to their slimmer colleagues and in the very extreme they are also faced with lower remunerations and increased risk of job insecurity based on their weight alone.

In healthcare settings, patients affected by obesity often experience prejudice, apathy and lower quality of care from medical professionals, which may result in patients choosing to delay or forgo crucial preventative care to avoid additional humiliation.

Students also face weight-based victimization in educational settings from their peers, teachers and even parents, which may interfere with social support and educational achievement.

Weight stigma is even present in interpersonal relationships with friends, family and romantic partners, such that negative judgment invades almost all areas of the lives of people affected by obesity.

Gender Differences in Experiences of Weight Stigma

Although both men and women are vulnerable to weight discrimination, their experiences may differ with respect to how much discrimination they are exposed to and the forms that it takes. Most notably, women seem to experience higher levels of weight stigmatization than men, even at lower levels of excess weight. Research suggests that women, especially those who are middle aged or with lower levels of education, experience weight discrimination at significantly higher rates than male peers. Moreover, women report weight discrimination at lower levels of excess weight than men. For example, men tend to report considerable stigmatization at a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 35 or higher, whereas women report experiencing notable increases in weight discrimination at a lower BMI of only 27.

North American ideals of physical attractiveness, which emphasize thinness as central to feminine beauty, may account for some of these differences. Women whose bodies deviate, even slightly, from physical beauty standards may be vulnerable to weight stigmatization. Given that thinness ideals have become deeply ingrained into our society and are heavily promoted by the mass media, diet industry and fashion industry, it’s not surprising to see widespread weight stigmatization toward women, even if they are not “obese.”

For women, weight discrimination has been associated with poorer body image, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and a range of unhealthy eating behaviors, including binge eating.

Gender Differences in Children and Adolescents

Young people are vulnerable to the negative social and emotional consequences of obesity. The magnitude of stigmatization always takes the shape of bullying and victimization which impacts adversely on their relationships, education and occasionally on their physical health. There has been an inconsistency in research findings to gender with some studies establishing that girls experience more weight-based victimization, reporting higher levels of teasing and being assigned more negative characteristics as a result of their weight than boys. Other research, however, has failed to find sex differences in vulnerabilities. It may be that differences are more apparent in the types of stigmatization experienced by boys and girls, rather than the quantity or amount of these experiences.

For instance weight-based bullying may be more predominant among boys who are affected by excess weight while girls may experience more weight-based victimization in the form of social exclusion from their peers.

As I had indicated above boys and girls who experience weight-based victimization are at increased risk for negative social and educational outcomes, however, these risks seem to be even more identical with girls who are overweight, display lower academic self-esteem and are significantly more likely to be held back a grade than boys. Girls are also more likely to experience negative psychological outcomes, like depression in response to experiences of weight victimization, and may endure more pronounced difficulties in interpersonal relationships with peers and dating partners in adolescence.

Research shows that adolescent and young adult women who are affected by excess weight have lower potential for romantic relationships compared to their non-overweight peers. However, for young men, being affected by excess weight may not be detrimental to dating and forming romantic relationships. In fact, it may even be
associated with positive and desirable characteristics like strength and masculinity.

Finally the content of this article is not conclusive and certainly further studies are necessary to unlock and comprehend the nature and extent of gender differences in experiences of weight stigmatization. Even though it may appear for now that some differences may exist and more so ladies may have increased vulnerability in some areas compared to men. These are very useful tips which should be known by the various sector e.g. employers, learning institutions to help them intervene and bring the whole thing of weight stigmatization to a manageable levels. Doing all these may necessitate that you seek well guided professional advice from an experienced expert. This services are available at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center a facility founded by Doctor Akoury who is an expert in this line of obesity and has been helping people regain their lives back for the last two decades through a painless process by focusing on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE. Calling doctor Akoury will be very helpful for you to sort out all your questions relating to weight gain and obesity in all aspect.

Discrimination due to Weight Gain – How it Affect both Men and Women