Body Image Predicts Health

A new study suggests that individuals who want to weigh less are in fact more likely to be mentally or physically unhealthy than those who are content with their body image. Surprisingly, the angst surrounding desired body weight was more of a predictor of “unhealthy” days than body mass index (BMI). In the study, researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health also found that the desire to lose weight was more predictive of unhealthy days among Whites than among African-Americans or Hispanics, and among women than among men.

There is evidence that discrimination against heavy people is pervasive, occurring in social settings, the workplace, and the home.