FATNESS, DISCRIMINATION AND CLASSISM: A STUDY IN YOUTH FROM SANTIAGO DE CHILE

Abstract

The study of obesity from a social psychology viewpoint has mainly been from a cognitive behavioral approach, omitting the social contexts in which discriminatory judgments are made. In order to understand the meanings with which fatness is built and its interaction with other forms of social exclusion, we have carried out a qualitative study on young people from Santiago de Chile. We worked with three discussion groups, which we analyzed following the guidelines of the grounded theory. We present the results related to the construction of fatness and its relationship with social classes. Fat is constituted as a condition that defines the person as anxious, lazy and deformed, which justifies the action of discrimination. The attributes by which fat people are excluded coincide with those historically used to discriminate against the poor, hence we conclude that it constitutes a new form of classism.

Keywords:
obesity; body weight; social discrimination; stigma