No motivation, lazy,slacker, and couch potato. If you are over weight someone might have said these names either behind your back or maybe even boldly to your face. These words hurt more often times than physical abuse. Being obese brings many challenges and weight bias is one of them. You might say how can you prove weight bias, well its definitely hard to prove but it truly exists.
My experience was through a job opportunity. A majority of the interview process was done virtually. Being told I was clearly the top choice throughout the process I felt I was in line for a new opportunity. Then came the in person portion of the process. I was met with what looked like shock on the person’s face. You know the kind of look that could stop traffic.
I didn’t get that opportunity and I am fairly certain although hard to prove it was weight bias. The stigma that because you are overweight you are a not a hard worker is real. Again it’s very hard to prove because no one is going to come out and say “Well you didn’t get the job because you’re fat and lazy.” I think in fact obese people work harder to prove themselves and dispel those stigmas. Its a sad but true story anyone who is obese may have dealt with or deal with.
