Fatal Fat Shaming? How Weight Discrimination May Lead To Premature Death
Wbur:
As soon as the chair broke under the weight of his 533 pounds, Jeff Newell knew he wouldn’t get the job.
With a background in customer service and a culinary arts degree, Newell, of Taunton, Massachusetts, had been searching fruitlessly for work for several years. Finally, a great job near his home opened up that seemed a perfect fit with his credentials. But then came the chair-breaking incident. Humiliating, yes, but even more infuriating because the interviewer, offering neither help nor an apology, simply shook her head and made a face.
“I knew what she was thinking: ‘This person is overweight and he’s going to be lazy and why should I hire him?’ ” Newell said. The situation was mortifying emotionally, but also took a physical toll. Newell broke out in a sweat, his heart racing.
The sort of weight-based discrimination that he says he experienced is not just unpleasant and stressful; it may actually lead to premature death, a recent study finds.
Read the whole story: Wbur
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