A recent study by researchers at the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity revealed that overweight women may be facing discrimination in the courtroom.
Subjects in the study were presented with vignettes describing check fraud. One of four different pictures was shown to the subjects: (1) a lean male, (2) a lean female, (3) an obese male, or (4) an obese female. The study participants were then asked to rate the probable guilt of the person in the picture on a 5 point scale. Researchers collected data from 471 participants.
The results revealed that male subjects were significantly more likely to find guilt with the obese female than with any other picture. Interestingly, there was no increased perception of guilt with respect to the obese male. This bias did not appear in female participants.
Natasha Schvey, the lead author on the project, said, “It’s important to look at weight stigma not only as a public health priority but also as a source of sweeping social injustice.”