Anti-fat Prejudice: The Role of Psychology in Explication, Education and Eradication

The field of psychology’s explication of anti-fat prejudice and its impact on psychological practice in the U.S. is reviewed.
The medical perspective that obesity is itself a disease or a psychological disorder and that fat is the cause of various
physical or mental health conditions is challenged and viewed as contributing to weight-based prejudice in the U.S. The role
of psychology in educating students and future practitioners about anti-fat bias and research on the ineffectiveness of dieting
is examined. Research documenting anti-fat bias in the diagnosis and treatment of fat female clients in the U.S. is reviewed,
and potential solutions for eradicating anti-fat prejudice in the clinical practice of psychology, including alternatives
to dieting for women, are described.