Hiring bias against candidates with obesity
- Published in
- Front Psychol 2016
- People studied
- 181
181 workers rated candidates with obesity as less suitable for a job than candidates of normal weight.
- Checked against
- PubMed 27199869
- Published in
- Front Psychol 2016
- Last checked
- 30 October 2026
Key takeaway
181 people working in desk, standing, manual and heavy manual jobs rated made-up candidates for a job. Candidates with obesity were rated less suitable than candidates of normal weight, and less suitable than candidates whose weight was not shown, in all four types of work. The bias was stronger among raters from more physically demanding jobs.
At a glance
- Type of study
- experiment: workers rated made-up job candidates
- People studied
- 181
- Compared with
- candidates of normal weight, and candidates whose weight was not shown
- Main result
- Raters judged candidates with obesity less suitable for the same job.
- Strength of evidence
- Randomised trials
What this study does not show
These were ratings of made-up candidates by 181 workers, not real hiring decisions, and the abstract gives no size of the difference.
Results from studies in groups of people, mostly in diet and movement programmes. They cannot be promised to any one person. This information is educational and does not replace a consultation with a doctor.
More on money and work
- Pay gap linked with obesity, in women over 50Long-term or observational studies · Lundborg et al., Adv Health Econ Health Serv Res 2007
- Pay gap linked with obesityLong-term or observational studies · Danso et al., Obes Rev 2026
- Fewer callbacks for a heavier-looking photoRandomised trials · Rooth, J Hum Resour 2009
- Income gap for women with higher BMILong-term or observational studies · Tyrrell et al., BMJ 2016
- Hiring bias against candidates with obesityRandomised trials · Flint et al., Front Psychol 2016
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