Weight Bias Issues

iStockphoto

iStockphoto

According to the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, “72% of photographs paired with online news stories about obesity are stigmatizing toward individuals affected by obesity.
News photographs and videos tend to portray individuals as headless (i.e. only from the shoulders down), from unflattering angles and engaging in stereotypical behaviors (eating unhealthy foods or engaging in sedentary behavior).”
For this “Bias Busters” issue, we want you to encourage the online stock photography Web sites iStockphoto.com, Getty Images and Bigstock to remove these images and others from their Web sites as the images degrade and dehumanize individuals affected by obesity.

Biases/Stigma

– Many photos feature a “headless” person affected by obesity.
– Individuals affected by obesity are portrayed as eating foods in an animated way for effect.
– These photos greatly perpetuate the negative weight bias and stigma often associated with the diease of obesity.