Everyday discrimination in a racially diverse sample of patients with obesity.

ABSTRACT

Weight discrimination affects a significant proportion of individuals with obesity and contributes to poor mental and physical health. Prior research on weight discrimination has been limited by a lack of racial diversity in samples and has not considered other potential forms of discrimination that individuals with obesity may experience. The current study assessed different reasons for discrimination in a racially diverse sample of treatment-seeking individuals with obesity (N = 122, 66.4% black, mean body mass index = 38.5 ± 6.2 kg/m2 ). Results showed that over half of participants reported experiencing at least one form of repeated discrimination, and 30% reported two or more reasons for discrimination. Race and weight were the most commonly reported reasons for repeated, everyday instances of discrimination. Among participants who reported experiencing weight discrimination (28.7%), over 80% reported experiencing at least one other form of discrimination, with 60% reporting discrimination due to race. These findings indicate that individuals with obesity may face multiple forms of discrimination in their daily lives. Further research is needed to understand how all forms of discrimination contribute to obesity-related health problems.