“Hey, look! The fat lady is trying to lose weight!”
This comment changed my life.
As I made my way down the gravel path that circled the park near my downtown apartment, I took in the scenery, couples picnicking on the lush grass, silly Labradors jumping after sticks thrown by their owners, proud young parents pushing baby strollers. It was a perfect spring day! Until I turned the first corner of the park: “Hey, look! The fat lady is trying to lose weight!” Surprised by the out loud comment, I stopped and looked at the fountain, about fifty feet away was a group of kids carrying skateboards. Dozens of mistakes ran through my mind.
They’re just kids, I finally told myself, and kept walking. Once my anger dissipated, a flood of forgotten feelings came back to me, the persistent teasing of my schoolmates and the constant loneliness I felt as an overweight child. I have struggled with my weight all my life. Once I hit puberty, I gained 275 pounds. At 5’4″, I was considered what I now know to be morbidly obese. Throughout my adult years I managed to keep my weight under 200lbs, but only with extreme measures like diet pills and weeks of nothing but shakes protein I exercised regularly, although it was often difficult due to persistent fatigue.
Back home, I promised to learn more about obesity discrimination. What is being done to educate the public? What are the consequences of being obese in today’s society? I also vowed to get healthy, stop focusing on society’s approval or disapproval of my weight, and start focusing on my wellness.
During my research I discovered shocking statistics. Studies in the International Journal of Obesity report that weight discrimination, especially against women, is on the rise in American society and, in some cases, is even more prevalent than rates of discrimination based on gender and race. Reported discrimination based on weight has increased 66 percent in the last decade, compared to 12 percent for American adults. (About 17 percent of men and 9 percent of women reported racial discrimination.)
Among severely obese people, about 28 percent of men and 45 percent of women said they have experienced discrimination because of their weight.
There are two types of weight discrimination: institutional and interpersonal. Institutional discrimination involves situations related to health care, education, and the workplace. I personally experienced this when a well-known provider denied me individual health insurance due to my “height/weight variance.” The website cswd.org reports that workers who weigh more than average are paid $1.25 less per hour. Over a 40-year career, they will earn up to $100,000 less before taxes than their slimmer counterparts (Baum, 2004).
Interpersonal discrimination is what I experienced that day in the park.
“Weight discrimination is a very serious societal problem that we need to pay attention to,” says Rebecca Puhl of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Puhl believes weight discrimination will not subside until attitudes change and laws begin to address it.
There are no federal laws against weight discrimination. Michigan is currently the only state with a size discrimination law on its books, though the Massachusetts Legislature held hearings last month on a proposed law. San Francisco joined Washington, DC, and Santa Cruz, Cal., as the only cities that ban weight discrimination.
Like so many who suffer from obesity, I had an undiagnosed health condition. I now know that I have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a metabolic disorder that affects women. PCOS causes weight gain and many other symptoms: unwanted facial hair, irregular periods, depression, and even infertility. I’ve learned how to eat in a way that stabilizes my blood sugar (insulin imbalances are the main cause of the disorder), how to take the right combination of vitamins and supplements, and have joined numerous support groups online for patients with PCOS. I now weigh a healthy 145 pounds.
I urge anyone who is obese to diligently investigate the common underlying causes: prediabetes, metabolic syndrome/syndrome X, insulin resistance, hypothyroidism, and subclinical hypothyroidism.
There are many advocacy groups fighting to end weight discrimination, such as The Council on Size and Weight Discrimination and the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.