Awareness of obese epidemic leads to wrongful weight discrimination

One of the biggest public health crises of today’s age is the obesity epidemic. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, due to increases in body weights over the last two decades, we are approaching a time in which obesity is taking over. Today, more than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7 percent) and approximately 17 percent (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2 – 19 years are obese. To an extent, the obesity epidemic is considered a medical problem. However, it has also become a reason for increased weight discrimination within society.