Open Access Volume 3 • Issue 3 • 1000206 Occup Med Health Aff ISSN: 2329-6879 OMHA, an open access journal Open Access Review Article Occupational Medicine & Health Affairs O c c u p a t i o n a l M e d i c i n e & H e a l t h A f f a i r s ISSN: 2329-6879 Nowrouzi, et al., Occup Med Health Aff 2015, 3:3 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2329-6879.1000206 *Corresponding author: Behdin Nowrouzi, PhD, OT Reg. (Ont.), Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C2, Canada, Tel: 705- 626-4554; E-mail: bx_nowrouzi@laurentian.ca Received April 03, 2015; Accepted June 10, 2015; Published June 17, 2015 Citation: Nowrouzi B, McDougall A, Gohar B, Nowrouz-Kia B, Casole J, et al. (2015) Weight Bias in the Workplace: A Literature Review. Occup Med Health Aff 3: 206. doi:10.4172/2329-6879.1000206 Copyright: © 2015 Nowrouzi B, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Weight Bias in the Workplace: A Literature Review Behdin Nowrouzi 1,* , Alicia McDougall 2 , Basem Gohar 1 , Behnam Nowrouz-Kia 3 , Jennifer Casole 2 and Fizza Ali 4 1 Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada 2 Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 3 Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada 4 Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada Keywords: Obesity; Weight; Meta-analysis Introduction In 2005, over two million Canadian employees between the ages of 18 and 64 were found to have a body mass index (BMI) classifed as obese. Based on self-assessment reports, the obesity rate among Canadian employees has been steadily increasing from 12.5% in the mid-1990s to 15.7% in 2005 [1]. In the year 2000, almost two thirds of US adults were considered overweight and nearly a third were considered obese [2,3]. Although the prevalence of obesity continues to increase in today’s society, individuals who are overweight or obese appear to be less accepted and are targets for discrimination [4]. Individuals with obesity frequently experience bias, stigmatization and discrimination due to weight [4,5]. Weight bias refers to the tendency to make unreasonable judgments based on a person’s weight. [6] Stigmatization refers to a generalized devaluation and social exclusion of individuals as a result of deviance in particular attributes, like being overweight [7]. Te term discrimination refers to unjust or prejudicial behaviours towards an individual or group of people based on specifc characteristics or on afliation to a certain groups [6,7]. Tese experiences have been noted to have serious consequences for the personal and social health of obese individuals [5]. A growing body of evidence indicates that weight bias, stigmatization, and discrimination are prevalent in the workplace [4,5,8]. Given the steady increase in obesity rates in today’s society, work-related weight bias needs to be viewed as a serious problem [7]. Te purpose of this study was to conduct a literature review of the issue of obesity stigma in the workplace as well as to identify gaps in the research on the topic. Te aim of this paper is to review and evaluate what constitutes obesity stigma in the workplace. Furthermore, we will examine societal attitudes regarding obesity in the workplace and what interventions exist to reduce and eliminate weight bias in the workplace. Methods Data was collected using the PubMed, OVID and the Google scholar databases. Searches were conducted using the keywords: obese, obesity, overweight, bias, weight bias, stigma, stigmatization, discrimination, stereotypes, workplace, work setting, employment, job performance, hiring, selection, evaluation, promotion, evaluation outcomes, perceptions, attitudes, policy, public policy, intervention and weight management programs. A ‘snowballing’ technique was also used to collect data. Tis technique used the reference lists of the articles found above to identify articles that were relevant to types of weight bias in the workplace and perceptions of obesity in society. Types of weight bias in the workplace Qualitative reviews have concluded that individuals who are overweight face weight bias and discrimination at every stage of the employment cycle [4,7,8]. Tese reviews have identifed evidence for weight bias across a variety of evaluative outcomes, including selection, placement, compensation, assignments, promotions, assessments, discipline and termination [4,7-9] (Table 1). A review by Giel et al. examined weight bias in fve aspects of work life and work settings. Te authors executed a literature search in the scientifc databases PubMed and PsycINFO. Tey found evidence for stereotypical beliefs across a number of work-related abilities. Some of these stereotypes included lower job performance, lacking interpersonal skills, lacking motivation and lacking self-control. Tey also found that obesity is a general barrier to being hired in the frst place and a barrier to certain professions such as managerial and technical professions as well as occupations that involve high public contact (e.g., sales jobs). Obesity was also found to be a barrier to professional success since individuals who are obese were less likely to Abstract The prevalence of obesity continues to increase in today’s society. Individuals who are overweight or obese appear to be less accepted and are targets for discrimination. The aim of this paper is to review and evaluate what constitutes obesity stigma in the workplace, what societal attitudes are present regarding obesity in the workplace and what interventions exist to reduce and eliminate weight bias in the workplace. A review was conducted using keyword searches. Results revealed that overweight individuals face weight bias and discrimination at every stage of the employment cycle and the presence of negative perceptions and stigmatization in the workplace concerning individuals with obesity. Intervention strategies have included individual based strategies as well as social change models that include both environmental and population strategies. Legal cases for weight-related discrimination in the workplace have been met with mixed results. Recommendations are provided to foster a healthier work environment that is inclusive of all workers and one that supports a higher quality of work in organizations.