We investigate the frequency and psychological correlates of institutional and interpersonal discrimination reported by underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese I, and obese II/III Americans. Analyses use data from the Midlife Development in the United States study, a national survey of more than 3,000 adults ages 25 to 74 in 1995. Compared to normal weight persons, obese II/III persons (body mass index of 35 or higher) are more likely to report institutional and day-to-day interpersonal discrimination. Among obese II/III persons, professional workers are more likely than nonprofessionals to report employment discrimination and interpersonal mistreatment. Obese II/III persons report lower levels of self-acceptance than normal weight persons, yet this relationship is fully mediated by the perception that one has been discriminated against due to body weight or physical appearance. Our findings offer further support for the pervasive stigma of obesity and the negative implications of stigmatized identities for life chances.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AllisonDavid B.KevinFontaineJoanneMansonJuneStevensItallieTheodore Van1999.
“Annual Deaths Attributable to Obesity in the United States.”Journal of the American Medical Association282:
1530–38
2.
AllonNatalie1981.
“The Stigma of Overweight in Everyday Life.”
Pp. 13074
in Psychological Aspects of Obesity: A Handbook,
edited by BenjaminWolmanNew York:
Van Nostrand Rheinhold
3.
AllportGordon W.1954.
The Nature of Prejudice.Cambridge, MA:
Addison-Wesley
4.
American Psychiatric Association.1987.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.3 ed.Washington, DC:
American Psychiatric Association
5.
AneshenselCarol S.RalphFrerichsGeorgeHuba1984.
“Depression and Physical Illness: A Multiwave, Nonrecursive Causal Model.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior25:
350–71
6.
ArcherDane1985.
“Social Deviance.”
Pp. 743804
in Handbook of Social Psychology,
edited by GardnerLindzeyElliotAronsonNew York:
Random House
7.
AverettSusan L.SandersKorenman1999.
“Black-White Differences in Social and Economic Consequences of Obesity.”International Journal of Obesity23:
166–73
8.
BrownTony N.SellersSherrill L.BrownKendrick T.JacksonJames S.1999.
“Race, Ethnicity, and Culture in the Sociology of Mental Health.”
Pp. 16782
in Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health,
edited by AneshenselCarol S.PhelanJo C.New York:
Kluwer/Plenum
9.
BrownellKelly D.HorgenKatherine Battle2003.
Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It.New York:
McGraw-Hill
10.
CahnmanWerner J.1968.
“The Stigma of Obesity.”Sociological Quarterly9:
283–99
11.
CooleyCharles H.1956.
Human Nature and the Social Order.New York:
Free Press
12.
CrandallChristian S.MonicaBiernat1990.
“The Ideology of Anti-fat Attitudes.”Journal of Applied Social Psychology20:
227–43
13.
CrandallChristian S.RebeccaMartinez1996.
“Culture, Ideology, and Anti-fat Attitudes.”Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin22:
1165–76
14.
CrandallChristian S.SchiffhauerKristin L.1998.
“Anti-fat Prejudice: Beliefs, Values, and American Culture.”Obesity Research6:
458–60
15.
CrockerJenniferBrendaMajor1989.
“Social Stigma and Self-Esteem: The Self-Protective Properties of Stigma.”Psychological Review96:
608–30
16.
CrockerJenniferBrendaMajorClaudeSteele1998.
“Social Stigma.”
Pp. 50453
in The Handbook of Social Psychology,
edited by GilbertDaniel T.FiskeSusan T.Boston, MA:
McGraw-Hill
17.
DeJongWilliam1980.
“The Stigma of Obesity: The Consequences of Naïve Assumptions Concerning the Causes of Physical Deviance.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior21:
75–87
18.
EaglyAliceShellyChaiken1993.
“The Impact of Attitudes on Behavior.”
Pp. 155281
in The Psychology of Attitudes,
edited by AliceEaglyShellyChaikenDawnYoungbloodNew York:
Harcourt
19.
EisenbergMarNeuD. Diannemark-SztainerMaryStory2003.
“Associations of Weight-Based Teasing and Emotional Well-Being among Adolescents.”Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine157:
733–38
20.
FeinleibManning1985.
“Epidemiology of Obesity in Relation to Health Hazards.”Annals of Internal Medicine103:
1019–24
21.
FerraroKenneth F.Kelley-MooreJessica A.2003.
“Cumulative Disadvantage and Health: Long-Term Consequences of Obesity.”American Sociological Review68:
707–29
22.
FerraroKenneth F.YanYu1995.
“Body Weight and Self-Ratings of Health.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior36:
274–84
23.
FlegalKatherine M.CarrollMargaret D.KuczmarskiRobert J.JohnsonC. T.1998.
“Overweight and Obesity in the United States: Prevalence and Trends, 1960–1994.International Journal of Obesity22:
39–47
24.
FlegalKatherine M.CarrollMargaret D.CliffordOgdenJohnsonClifford L.2002.
“Prevalence and Trends in Obesity among U.S. Adults, 1999–2000.”Journal of the American Medical Association288:
1723–27
25.
FontaineKevinFaithMyles S.AllisonDavid B.CheskinLawrence J.1998.
“Body Weight and Health Care among Women in the General Population.”Archives of Family Medicine7:
381–84
26.
FriedmanKelli E.ReichmannSimona K.ConstanzoPhilip R.MusanteGerard J.2002.
“Body Image Partially Mediates the Relationship between Obesity and Psychological Distress.”Obesity Research10:
33–41
27.
FriedmanMichael A.BrownellKelly D.1995.
“Psychological Correlates of Obesity: Moving to the Next Research Generation.”Psychological Bulletin117:
3–20
28.
GoffmanErving1963.
Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity.Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall
29.
GreenbergBradley S.MatthewEastinLindaHofshireKenLachlanBrownellKelly D.2003.
“Portrayals of Overweight and Obese Individuals on Commercial Television.”American Journal of Public Health93:
1342–48
30.
HarrisMary B.HarrisRichard J.StephenBochner1982.
“Fat Four-Eyed and Female: Stereotypes of Obesity, Glasses, and Gender.”Journal of Applied Social Psychology12:
503–16
31.
HochschildArlie1983.
The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feelings.Berkeley:
University of California Press
32.
JensenGary F.WhiteC. S.GalliherJohn K.1982.
“Ethnic Status and Adolescent Self-Evaluations: An Extension of Research on Minority Self-Esteem.”Social Problems30:
226–39
33.
KesslerRonald C.MickelsonKristin D.WilliamsDavid R.1999.
“The Prevalence, Distribution, and Mental Health Correlates of Perceived Discrimination in the United States.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior40:
208–30
34.
KimmSue Y. S.SweeneyC. G.JanoskyJanine E.MacMillanJ. P.1991.
“Self-Concept Measures and Childhood Obesity: A Descriptive Analysis.”Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics12:
19–24
35.
KlesgesRobert C.HaddockC. K.SteinR. J.KlesgesLisa M.HeckL. H.HansonC. L.1992.
“Relationship between Psychosocial Functioning and Body Fat in Preschool Children: A Longitudinal Investigation.”Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology60:
793–96
36.
KriegerNancy1990.
“Racial and Gender Discrimination: Risk Factors for High Blood Pressure?”Social Science and Medicine30:
1273–81
37.
LinkBruce G.PhelanJo C.2001.
“Conceptualizing Stigma.”Annual Review of Sociology27:
363–85
38.
LinkBruce G.StreuningElmer L.MichaelRahavPhelanJo C.LarryNuttbrock1997.
“On Stigma and Its Consequences: Evidence from a Longitudinal Study of Men with Dual Diagnoses of Mental Illness and Substance Abuse.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior38:
177–90
39.
MajorBrendaToniSchmader1998.
“Coping with Stigma through Psychological Disengagement.”
Pp. 21941
in Prejudice: The Target's Perspective,
edited by SwimJ. K.StangorC.New York:
Academic Press
40.
MokdadA.SerdulaM.DietzW.BowmanB.MarksJ.KaplanJ.1999.
“The Spread of the Obesity Epidemic in the United States, 1991–98.”Journal of the American Medical Association282:
1519–22
41.
MyersA.RosenJ. C.1999.
“Obesity Stigmatization and Coping: Relation to Mental Health Symptoms, Body Image and Self-Esteem.”International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders23:
221–30
42.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.1998. Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults.National Institutes of Health Publication 98–4083.
Bethesda, MD:
National Institutes of Health
43.
O'NeilP. M.JarrellM. P.1992.
“Psychological Aspects of Obesity and Dieting.”
Pp. 25270
in Treatment of the Seriously Obese Patient,
edited by WaddenThomas A.VanItallieTheodore B.New York:
Guilford
44.
PaganJose A.AlbertoDavila1997.
“Obesity, Occupational Attainment, and Earnings.”Social Science Quarterly78:
756–70
45.
PaltaMariPrineasRonald J.ReubenBermanPeterHannan1982.
“Comparison of Self-Reported and Measured Height and Weight.”American Journal of Epidemiology115:
223–30
46.
Perez-PenaRichardGrantGlickson2003.
“As Obesity Rises, Health Care Indignities Multiply.”New York Times,
November 29,
p. A1
47.
PriceRichard H.ChoiJin NamVinokurAmiram D.2002.
“Links in the Chain of Adversity Following Job Loss: How Financial Strain and Loss of Personal Control Lead to Depression, Impaired Functioning, and Poor Health.”Journal of Occupational Health Psychology7:
302–12
48.
PuhlRebeccaBrownellKelly D.2001.
“Bias, Discrimination, and Obesity.”Obesity Research9:
788–805
49.
RegisterCharles A.WilliamsDonald R.1990.
“Wage Effects of Obesity among Young Workers.”Social Science Quarterly71:
130–41
50.
RidgewayCecelia L.1997.
“Interaction and the Conservation of Gender Inequality: Considering Employment.”American Sociological Review62:
218–35
51.
RosenbergMorrisPearlinLeonard I.1978.
“Social Class and Self-Esteem among Children and Adults.”American Journal of Sociology84:
53–78
52.
RossCatherine E.1994.
“Overweight and Depression.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior35:
63–79
53.
RyffCarol D.1989.
“Happiness Is Everything, Or Is It? Explorations on the Meaning of Psychological Well-Being.”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology57:
1069–81
54.
SaportaIshakJenniferHalpern2002.
“Being Different Can Hurt: Effects of Deviation from Physical Norms on Lawyers' Salaries.”Industrial Relations41:
442–66
55.
SobalJeffreyAlbertStunkard1989.
“Socioeconomic Status and Obesity: A Review of the Literature.”Psychological Bulletin105:
260–75
56.
SolovaySandra2000.
Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight-Based Discrimination.Amherst, NY:
Prometheus
57.
StunkardAlbert J.AlbaumJ. M.1981.
“The Accuracy of Self-Reported Weights.”American Journal of Clinical Nutrition34:
1593–99
58.
StunkardAlbert J.WaddenThomas A.1992.
“Psychological Aspects of Severe Obesity.”American Journal of Clinical Nutrition55:
524–32
59.
ThomasWilliam I.FlorianZnaniecki [1918]
1958.
The Polish Peasant in Europe and America.New York:
Dover
60.
WeinerBernardPerryRaymond P.JamieMagnusson1988.
“An Attributional Analysis of Reactions to Stigmas.”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology55:
738–48
61.
WethingtonElaineKesslerRonald C.1991.
“Situations, and Processes of Coping.”
Pp. 1329
in The Social Context of Coping,
edited by JohnEckenrodeNew York:
Plenum
62.
WittchenHans-UlrichShanyangZhaoKesslerRonald C.EatonWilliam W.1994.
“DSM-III-R Generalized Anxiety Disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey.”Archives of General Psychiatry51:
355–64
