Discrimination on Overweight Persons - What Should We Do about It?

[Carol]

As we all can see, discrimination on overweight persons is a real thing. This exists everywhere, especially in employment, education and health care. This thing is provoked by the people’s attitude regarding overweight persons. A study shows that about 24 percents, from those working in health care, feel repulse over the overweight patients, while 28 percents from the teachers consider that obesity is the worst thing that could happen to a person. Another study result shows that usually the parents of obese children are not supporting the college education, the way as the parents of thin children do.

All these opinions were studied usually by written surveys, as people are more comfortable in doing these statements. Many people are embracing the same attitude of repulse, regarding overweight persons. Among them, there are not only people of medium education level, but also nurses, physicians, students, dieticians, professors and many more. All these persons, discriminating obese people, are doing this because they consider that the fat persons are for sure lazy, presenting a low level of self-control and having flaw characters. As well, they all consider that usually, an obese person is not able to lose weight, especially due to the noncompliance.

As you might already know, discrimination over the overweight persons is identical with the one on gender and race, and it should be condemned. The shocking discovered fact is that even those specialists in dieting problems, are also doing this kind of discrimination. There are studies, indicating that the obesity influence the clinician’s judgments and, implicit, their practice. This is a very important issue, as maybe because of this factor, the obesity is not taken too serious. Some more studies show that even though physicians are aware that many of their patients are encountering weight problems, they still do not prescribe any treatments, allowing the patient’s physical and psychical state to become more deteriorate.

At the same time, overweight persons are encountering difficulties to find a job; for them it is much more difficult than for the others, presenting an average size. First, all these persons are discriminated because of their look and, second, because the employers are afraid that they are not going to be able to do some specific tasks. As well, all the overweight persons are facing discriminations whenever it comes to promotion issues. Usually, all the promoted employees have to look good, as, for companies, they represent an image, and they want that image to look great. It is cruel, not fair, but real. To be even worst, there are cases when people are fired because, from their hiring until to a certain point in their careers, they took some extra kilograms. In some cases, many of them are asked to follow weight loss programs, in order to keep their jobs.
As well, you can also observe all those overweight women, having much lower priorities that the normal-sized women. Usually, due to the overweight discriminations issues, overweight women even get worst apartments than the non-overweight ones. This is just because of the way they look. The non-overweight women usually get a negotiated higher salary and many promotion opportunities, and even more training courses.

As you already might know from your own experience or from all the things that you have seen, overweight students are not welcome to college, either; they are discriminated because of the way they look. The fact that they have good scores does not count and, in case that they wish to complete any level of high education, they have to pay for it.

If you think that overweight discrimination is something totally cruel and wrong, you should know that many people think the same. Everyone have a problem with its own body image. We all know our defects and try to hide them. As well, overweight persons are trying to hide their defects; the only thing is that they cannot. Because of it, they are discriminated, offended and hurt by the others. They should not be; I mean it is their body and their life. They have the right to decide on them and they have the right to be respected, too.