Weight discrimination 'common' in US

Discrimination against the overweight may be about as prevalent as racial discrimination, the results of a survey of US adults suggests.

Using data from a survey of nearly 2,300 Americans, researchers at Yale University found that 5 percent of men and 10 percent of women said they had faced discrimination because of their weight - ranging from job refusals to rude treatment in everyday life.

Among respondents who were severely obese - having a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher - 40 percent reported instances of weight discrimination. A body mass index is the ratio between height and weight commonly used to classify individuals as over- or underweight.