NYT Article: For Obese People, Prejudice in Plain Sight

[CrankySpice]

Just saw this while perusing the NYT site. If it's been posted already, please feel free to merge/remove - I did a quick search for "New York Times" and did not see the article linked anywhere since publication date (March 15).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/health/16essa.html?ref=health

I found this snippet particularly interesting:

Indeed, Dr. Peter A. Muennig, an assistant professor of health policy at Columbia, says stigma can do more than keep fat people from the doctor: it can actually make them sick. “Stigma and prejudice are intensely stressful,” he explained. “Stress puts the body on full alert, which gets the blood pressure up, the sugar up, everything you need to fight or flee the predator.”

Over time, such chronic stress can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes and other medical ills, many of them (surprise!) associated with obesity. In studies, Dr. Muennig has found that women who say they feel they are too heavy suffer more mental and physical illness than women who say they feel fine about their size — no matter what they weigh.

 

[superodalisque]