Weight Discrimination May Increase Mortality Risk

New findings reveal that experiencing weight discrimination can increase mortality risk.

Though weight discrimination is not always used in a harmful way, previous studies have also suggested that it can result in long-term issues.

"What we found is that this isn't a case of people with a higher body-mass index (BMI) being at an increased risk of mortality -- and they happen to also report being subjected to weight discrimination," said researcher Angelina R. Sutin of Florida State University of Medicine, in a news release. She is an assistant professor of behavioral sciences and social medicine at the medical school. "Independent of what their BMI actually is, weight discrimination is associated with increased risk of mortality."

During the study, researchers looked at data involving over 18,000 people from separate longitudinal studies. They compared those who reported experiencing weight discrimination with those who did not. They also took other factors into account that may explain greater mortality risk.

Findings revealed that those who reported weight discrimination had a 60 percent greater risk of dying during the follow-up period when compared to counterparts.

The study results are published in the journal Psychological Science.

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