BREAKING NEWS – Chicago, Illinois – The University of Illinois Chicago’s school of public health defines weight stigma as “the discrimination or stereotyping based on a person’s weight,” which it claims is “reported at rates comparable to racism and is one of the last types of discrimination still condoned and carried out by public health and medical experts.”
“The incidence of weight stigma has increased by 66 percent with the rise of public health campaigns to end the ‘obesity epidemic,’” the school says. “Here on campus, we never use the words ‘fat’ or ‘obese’. Instead we refer to these individuals as ‘extremely loyal customers to fast food restaurants.’”