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Obesity The thicker the more people feel discriminated against
The higher the overweight, the more people feel discriminated against. This is the conclusion of a new study from Leipzig. The researchers thus confirmed investigations from the USA and Great Britain regarding weight-related discrimination in Germany as well. Most affected are women.
Obesity with physical and psychological consequences
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently warned that Europeans are getting fatter. Accordingly, more and more people in European countries are suffering from obesity or even obesity (obesity). The region is threatened with an "overweight crisis of enormous proportions" until the year 2030. Affected people are not only struggling with the physical consequences. Overweight also causes mental illness, as researchers from the Integrated Research and Treatment Center (IFB) Obesity Diseases of the University of Leipzig reported earlier this year. Scientists at the IFB are now investigating a phenomenon that had already been highlighted in studies from the US and the UK, which found that people with severe overweight were discriminated against in the labor and housing markets. The German researchers also found out: Many people with obesity in Germany have experienced discrimination.
The thicker a human being is, the more he experiences discrimination. Image: viperagp - fotolia Discrimination is not an isolated phenomenon
The scientists, who published their findings in the journal "International Journal of Obesity", report in a press release that the greater the overweight, the more they experience discrimination. While overweight 5.6 percent of the 3,000 respondents report discrimination, in light to moderate obesity, it is 10 to 18 percent and in severe obesity even almost 40 percent. According to the figures, the respondents' self-reports are based on the question of whether they have ever been disadvantaged by their body weight. The head of the IFB research group "Stigmatization of obesity", Dr. med. Claudia Luck-Sikorski, emphasized, "that in this study for the first time the extent of weight-related discrimination in Germany became clear. So it's not just a single phenomenon, it's mostly women of higher weight. While 7.6 percent of obese men report weight-related discrimination, this score is much higher at 20.6 percent. "
Defining obesity as a disease
According to the experts, there is a need for legal action. A prerequisite would be to define obesity as a serious illness. The WHO recognizes them since the year 2000 as a chronic disease. In Germany, the German Medical Association defines obesity merely as a risk factor for other diseases. The team from Leipzig cooperated with the law faculty of the University of Copenhagen. Danish jurist Prof. Mette Hartlev said: "Discrimination is the disadvantage of a group of people with certain characteristics. These include, for example, origin, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability. The current study showed now for Germany, that obesity is one of them. Similar to the efforts on the legal equality of men and women, disabled and non-disabled, today we would have to think about legal regulations for obese people "
Stigmatization leads to discrimination
The discussion was already triggered in Denmark by the case of an obese day-old father. The man caring for infants was terminated after 15 years of employment. Since he felt this as discrimination on the basis of his overweight, he complained about it. The Danish court turned to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Because there is no prohibition of discrimination due to severe obesity in EU law, it must be examined on a case-by-case basis whether the practice of the profession is impaired. In individual cases, strong obesity can be recognized as a disability, the ECJ. In such a case, the EU Directive on Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation will apply. "Such cases as in Denmark also occur in Germany. But they are just the tip of the iceberg, "said Luck-Sikorski. "The underlying problem is the negative opinion and negative attitude towards people with obesity. This stigmatization ultimately leads to discrimination. The aim of our research is to better understand these phenomena and to develop countermeasures. But we also see the legislature in duty. "(Ad)