Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 1, 2026

Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting Propensity Score using the Military Health System Data Repository and National Death Index
Published on: January 8, 2020
Weight Discrimination and Risk of Mortality
Angelina R Sutin1, Yannick Stephan2, Antonio Terracciano3
1Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine, Florida State University College of Medicine angelina.sutin@med.fsu.edu.
None:
Discrimination based on weight is a stressful social experience linked to declines in physical and mental health. We examined whether this harmful association extends to risk of mortality. Participants in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; N = 13,692) and the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS; N = 5,079) reported on perceived discriminatory experiences and attributed those experiences to a number of personal characteristics, including weight. Weight discrimination was associated with an increase in mortality risk of nearly 60% in both HRS participants (hazard ratio = 1.57, 95% confidence interval = [1.34, 1.84]) and MIDUS participants (hazard ratio = 1.59, 95% confidence interval = [1.09, 2.31]). This increased risk was not accounted for by common physical and psychological risk factors. The association between mortality and weight discrimination was generally stronger than that between mortality and other attributions for discrimination. In addition to its association with poor health outcomes, weight discrimination may shorten life expectancy.
Related Concept Videos
Bias in Epidemiological Studies
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Regression Toward the Mean
Drug Dosing: Obese Patients
Relative Risk
The Mantel-Cox Log-Rank Test
