Should Weight Discrimination and Stigma be Illegal? -
or are they justified as useful techniques in reducing
obesity levels?
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, Twenty-five percent of the UK population is estimated to be obese (Obesity, 2019), a condition
termed a ‘global epidemic’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO) (Caballero, 2007). The terms
‘obesity’ and ‘overweight’ refer to when an individual possesses an excess of fat to the extent to
which their health is adversely affected (Obesity and overweight, 2020). A person with a BMI of 30
or above is regarded as obese, whilst a BMI of 25 to 29 is considered overweight. Obese and
overweight people are susceptible to a number of comorbidities as obesity is a risk factor for other
diseases. These diseases include coronary heart disease, some cancers and type 2 diabetes, all of
which can have dire consequences (Obesity and overweight, 2020). The need to combat obesity is
unquestionable, not only because of the health consequences but also because obesity-related
illnesses have undoubtedly exerted pressure on the limited resources of the National Health Service
(NHS). This issue is apparent because in 2014-2015, the cost of obesity-related treatments was
around £6.1 billion. This cost is expected to reach £9.6 billion by 2050, which is more than what is
spent on the police and fire services combined (Health matters: obesity and the food environment,
2017). With attempts to lower the prevalence of obesity, public health schemes have focused on
raising awareness of the causes, consequences, and treatments of obesity (Obesity prevention |
Department of Health, n.d.). Although this is important, there is another crucial concern surrounding
obesity that also needs addressing by public health schemes.
‘Lazy, unmotivated, and less competent’ (Opinion: Should obesity be a protected characteristic in
the workplace?, 2019). These are some of the many preconceptions surrounding obese people
which result in there being a bias against them. These beliefs about the obese mean that they are
subject to weight discrimination. Weight stigma (or weight bias) is defined as the negative beliefs
about others because of their weight (Weight bias and obesity stigma: considerations for the WHO
European Region, 2017). Examples of this include teasing, social exclusion, and prejudice.
Alternatively, weight discrimination refers to the stigma-induced, unjustified treatment of people
because of their weight. This includes being denied a medical procedure or a promotion solely
because of one’s weight (Weight Discrimination: A Socially Acceptable Injustice, 2008).
Weight discrimination is the most common form of discrimination in the UK (Weight revealed as the
UK’s most common form of discrimination, 2018). Despite this, weight discrimination remains one of
the last legal forms of discrimination. This is because it is not included in the 'Equality Act of
2010'. The Equality Act protects people from discrimination. In this act, it states 'protected
characteristics' that it covers. These include race, religion and sex, but excludes
weight. Consequently, there are many detrimental effects on obese and overweight individuals. For
instance, obese people have fewer career opportunities and earn a lesser income than normal-
weight individuals (Bevan, 2019).
Stigma and discrimination are not routinely condoned in western societies, as they may be
considered threats to values such as respect and equality (Brownell, cited in Emmer, Bosnjak and
Mata, 2019). However, the use of stigma in healthcare has frequently been proposed as a strategy to
reduce the prevalence of disease (Bayer, 2008; Callahan, 2012). This approach has been suggested
especially for illnesses that are regarded as ‘preventable’ and of ‘personal responsibility’, which
obesity is. (Obesity and overweight, 2020). Supporters of this argument believe that the use of
stigma can motivate weight loss and thus promote public health, which will be discussed further
later in this report.
The objectives of my essay are to evaluate the assumptions that are the root causes of why weight
discrimination exists in our society. Moreover, I aim to assess the effects of weight stigma and
discrimination on physical and psychological wellbeing. Additionally, I will be examining Japan as a
case study. This is because it has an exceptionally low incidence of obesity. This investigation will
help me to understand whether different cultural pressures have led to stronger anti-obesity
attitudes which may have contributed to the low levels of obesity in Japan. All of these factors will
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