To think that thin people are treated better than fat people?

[ToriMJ]

I keep hearing this, and I'm wondering if in fact it's true that thin people are treated better than fat people?

I don't know, maybe.

I'm very petite. 5ft-ish and 7st. I find people speak to me like I'm a child.

How old are you? Do you look super young?

Yes, all studies show that attractive people (and it is more attractive to be thinner in most cases) are treated better. Even attractive children getting higher marks in class and attractive criminals getting lower sentences. This is not really up for debate but I expect we'll get some people saying their life is very hard as lots of people are jealous of them. The data does not support this as likely but people will have their own perceptions of course.

I'm slim and get treated very well but ....

I smile a lot so maybe that's the actual reason?

Wow I didn't know that about the school/crime.

I guess the only way to know is to be both big and small and compare.

Anybody who thinks this is worth asking has never been very fat.
It is like asking if sexism or racism exists.

I’ve been a size 6 for as long as I can remember. We get as many shit comments as overweight people.
I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve been asked if I eat. You’d never ask a fat person if they ever stop eating.

I've lost 14 stones in the last few years. It's definitely a thing.

Although some people getting annoyed that a fat person left their lane as the designated fat friend is also a thing.

I think conventionally physically attractive people probably get more positive reactions than people who aren’t conventionally physically attractive. I think that’s a normal involuntary human reaction.

I used to judge obese people…. when I was obese myself. My instant assumption was they were lazy, why are they eating that. I was a different sort of obese person of course, it was a real mystery why I was so fat.

Then, one day, I woke up to myself. I wasn’t exercising. I was sedentary. I was eating too much generally, and what I ate was all the wrong stuff. I lost a considerable amount of weight.

I don’t make snap judgments any longer, and I’m a much better person for waking up to myself and my crap attitudes.

Same as @ToriMJ

I've been obese and now very slim.

The difference in how I'm treated now is huge. It's been shocking, actually.

I think you're living in lala land if you think no-one's ever commented on what/how much a fat person eats!

Yes, I believe thin privilege is a thing.

I remember reading (perhaps on MN) that fat people get judged for eating in public, like at a train station or something. That was an eye opener. I'm thin and eat on the go all the time without thinking twice. Last week I sat on a bench outside a coffee shop at 11am and stuffed two big sandwiches in my face.

4'11 and 7st and I get the same treatment. I'm fucking 33 😑

I think experiencing hostility for leaving one's 'lane' within a friendship group or family dynamic is not limited to losing weight.

Incredibly, I experienced this kind of hostility for dragging my self-esteem out of the gutter and building a successful social life. No weight loss involved. Just daring to have friends and going out. 🤷‍♀️

I used to be morbidly obese, I'm now a size 6. I'm treated so much better, it's been shocking at times. I get stuff for free, I get offers of help just going about my daily life and treated favourably.

To the person saying people say they're skinny etc, it's really not the same. People also say it to me, but often it's from a place of jealousy or envy. No one ever wanted to look like me when I was a size 24.

Google the halo effect.

I have been both overweight though not huge and slim and the difference is huge in particular mens reactions to you. As soon I had slimmed down, men were smiling to me, holding doors, cars stopping to let me cross. Just got so much more respect from everyone and was not invisible. I was shocked to be honest.

When we're not being treated worse for being thin, yeah we are treated better.

It's swings and roundabouts. Absolutely I've benefited from always being a size eight. I'm quite sure it doesn't hurt in job interviews. But when you're interacting with people who want to take you down a peg or two for presuming to be thin, it's pretty shit.

Yes, I was always slim (5 ft and about 7.5 stone), then I got very ill, nearly died, and my weight ballooned as a result. The way I was treated changed dramatically, even down to simple things like people being less likely to hold doors open for me when out and about, and I was my same polite, smiley self, so it wasn't that I got miserable or anything. Back to my normal slim weight, and back to being treated better!

Could you post some links to those studies. I'd be keen to read them.

Definitely a thing, numerous studies about it. Skinny people get comments too about their weight but it’s usually from an admiration/positive frame of mind as opposed to negative. If it’s negative regarding a skinny person, it’s jealousy.

I was a big size 12 at my largest and am an 8 now and I’ve noticed the difference and I’m only 2 stone down! My confidence and personality hasn’t changed so it’s got to be the weight/look of me.

Of course slim people are treated better than fat people. Of course.

I judge my husband instinctively. He's twice my weight. I know it's wrong so say nothing and try to encourage him to eat well, spend time cooking tasty meals ... then find he's bought himself cake, biscuits and crisps. He's on steroids, but he does like a drink.