Here we go again. A study out of the UK found high levels of weight bias among students training to become nurses, doctors, nutritionists and dietitians.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=swift%20hanlon%20el-redy
DUH.
These results should be no surprise to anyone. Of course, us fatties have known about this problem for a long time, but who listens to (or believes) us?
So now that the problem is well-established, can we please stop spending money on these studies and put some money into fixing the problem?
Recent studies have shown that simply showing people images of fat people in a positive light reduces weight bias.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0048691
http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2012-03027-001/
If just showing a not-negative image of a fat person reduces weight bias, imagine what could be accomplished by actually educating people!
Seems people entering the healthcare professions would benefit from learning about the HAES™ approach; or how about simply educating them on the fact that diets not only don’t work but usually make the dieter fatter? And how about classes on the “fat paradox” – that fat actually has protective qualities?
Like most bias, a healthy dose of education can go a long way toward its reduction.
Prejudice is the child of ignorance. – William Hazlitt
Fatties United! 
The thing that really struck me about the study that showed that showing people images of fat people in a positive light reduces weight bias was; if showing people images of fat people in a positive light reduces weight bias, what does that say about images of fat people in a negative light? Like the headless fatties photos? The fact that the media chooses those types of pictures may *directly* contribute to makig things worse.
You are right! Not only do negative images of fat people create bias, so do advertisements, TV shows, news articles, etc. that claim being fat is merely a lifestyle choice!
“So now that the problem is well-established, can we please stop spending money on these studies and put some money into fixing the problem?”
First of all, the problem of weight bias is not well established. We know very little about the effects of biased health care on health outcomes.
Second, these kinds of psychology studies cost only a few thousand dollars, whereas the clinical trials cost many millions over many years.
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