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The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether overweight and obese individuals are underrepresented among top female and male US executives and whether there is evidence of greater discrimination against overweight and obese female executives than male executives.

Estimates of the frequencies of overweight and obese male Fortune 100 CEOs and female Fortune 1000 CEOs were obtained using publicly available photographs and raters with demonstrated expertise in evaluating body weight. These “experts” then estimated whether the pictured CEOs were normal weight, overweight or obese.

Based upon our expert raters’ judgments, it is estimated that between 5 and 22 per cent of US top female CEOs are overweight and approximately 5 per cent are obese. Compared to the general US population, overweight and obese women are significantly underrepresented in among top female CEOs. Among top male CEOs, it is estimated that between 45 and 61 per cent are overweight and approximately 5 per cent are obese. Compared to the general population overweight men are overrepresented among top CEOs, whereas obese men are underrepresented. This demonstrates that weight discrimination occurs at the highest levels of career advancement and that the threshold for weight discrimination is lower for women than for men.

Weight discrimination appears to add to the glass ceiling effect for women, and may serve as a glass ceiling for obese men.

This paper uses field data, as opposed to laboratory data, to demonstrate that discrimination against the overweight and obese extends to the highest levels of employment.

The purpose of this paper is to use data from the 2008 and 2012 US Senate elections to examine the relationship between candidate size (obese, overweight, normal weight) and candidate selection and election outcomes.

Using pictures captured from candidate web sites, participants rated the size of candidates in the primary and general US Senate elections. χ2 analyses, t-tests and hierarchical multiple regressions were used to test for evidence of bias against overweight and obese candidates and whether gender and election information moderate that relationship.

Obese candidates were largely absent from the pool of candidates in both the primary and general elections. Overweight women, but not overweight men, were also underrepresented. Supporting our hypothesis that there is bias against overweight candidates, heavier candidates tended to receive lower vote share than their thinner counterparts, and the larger the size difference between the candidates, the larger the vote share discrepancy. The paper did not find a moderating effect for gender or high-information high vs low-information elections on the relationship between candidate size and vote share.

Further research is needed to understand the process by which obese candidates are culled from the candidate pool and the cognitions underlying the biases against overweight candidates.

Because of the bias against obese political candidates, as much as one-third of the adult US population are likely to be excluded or being elected to a major political office.

This study is the first to use election data to examine whether bias based on size extends to the electoral process.

Overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity have in recent years become an important public health problem worldwide. Investigations that study obesity using a systemic approach in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are limited. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to study the nutritional stages dynamics within the Colombian urban population.

The authors used a population-level systems dynamics (SD) model that captures the transitions of population by body mass index (BMI) categories. The authors proposed a heuristic to estimate the transference rates (TRs) between BMI categories using data from the Colombian Demographic and Health Survey 2005 and 2010.

The Colombian urban population is moving to overweight and obese categories. The TRs from not overweight to overweight and from overweight to obese (0.0076 and 0.0054, respectively) are higher than the TRs from obese to overweight and from overweight to not-overweight (1.025×10e−7 and 3.47×10e−7, respectively). The simulation results show that the prevalences of overweight and obesity will increase by 6.2 and 7.5 percent by 2015, and by 13.4 and 18.9 percent by 2030, respectively.

Investigations that study obesity using a systemic approach in LMICs are limited. A SD model was proposed to examine changes in the population’s nutritional stages using population accumulation structures by BMI categories. The authors propose a heuristic to estimate the TRs of individuals between BMI categories. The proposed model can be used to study the effects of policy interventions to prevent overweight and obesity. The authors analyze a few policy intervention strategies.

This paper aims to draw together research which links the moral panic about the “adipose” body during the first five years of the millennium to the worsening mental health of US teens. Noting the way medical advocacy biased the news coverage in the quality press in the UK, the USA and Canada through its emphasis on weight gain in child and youth populations, it reviews evidence of a relationship between eating disorders, body dissatisfaction and the mental health of teens.

Building on research which suggests that teens ' misperception of their body can impact their mental health, the paper proposes reflexive embodiment, defined as the way an individual interprets and evaluates their own body morphology in relationship to the medical profession’s articulation of norms for weight classes, as a new construct for exploring the impact of the medical debates about obesity.

Using data sets from the US Youth Risk Behavior Survey gathered in 2001 and 2007 to compare both weight status and weight class accuracy, the study finds evidence that teens ' perceptions of their bodies have changed more than their actual weight. Noting a complex relationship between teens ' misperception of their weight status and mental health risks associated with depression and suicide, the paper explores ways that the medical stigmatization of the adipose body, and the ensuing consequences of gendered weight bias, have consequences for teen well-being.

This case study only provides an exploratory analysis of an hypothesis suggested by the theory of reflexive embodiment.

Refocus health professions on the mental health of teens.

Evidence of health implications of reflexive embodiment adds to a growing critique of medicalization of adipose body morphology.

The analysis of data contributes to a growing concern about medical stigmatization of “fat” bodies as unhealthy.

Adipose tissue accumulation by trapping vitamin D and reducing its level may cause serious side effects. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of vitamin D supplementation on dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), paraoxonase 1 (PON 1), insulin, free fatty acid (FFA), apolipoprotein-AI (Apo-AI) and apolipoprotein B (Apo-B) concentration in obese and overweight participants under low-calorie diet (LCD) program.

Healthy overweight and obese individuals (n = 70) with vitamin D deficiency were randomly assigned into 2 groups to receive either vitamin D supplements (an oral 2,000 IU vitamin D supplement) or placebo for 8 weeks.

All the participants were given an LCD program during the intervention. Vitamin D supplementation led to a significant increase in the levels of 25(OH)D (vitamin D vs placebo groups: 36.6 ± 9.8 vs 19.9 ± 3.5 ng/mL, p < 0.001), PON 1 levels (vitamin D vs placebo groups: 80 ± 25 vs 58 ± 23.2 ng/mL, p = 0.001), DHEA concentration (vitamin D vs placebo groups: 2.3 ± 0.7 vs 1.5 ± 0.6 ng/mL, p < 0.001) and Apo-AI levels (vitamin D vs placebo groups 3.7 ± 0.5 vs 3 ± 0.5 mg/dL, p < 0.001). Besides, intake of vitamin D supplements led to a significant decrease in FFA (vitamin D vs placebo groups: 3.1 ± 0.75 vs 3.5 ± 0.5 ng/mL, p = 0.001). After adjusting the analyses based on baseline levels, age and baseline body mass index measures, significant changes were observed in the insulin levels (0.03 ± 0.06 vs −1.7 ± 0.6 µIU/ml, p = 0.04). But the authors did not find any significant difference in the concentration of Apo-B between groups (vitamin D vs placebo groups: 71.5 ± 35.5 vs 66.6 ± 28.5 mg/dL, p = 0.05).

Overall vitamin D supplementation for eight weeks among vitamin D-deficient obese and overweight participants had beneficial effects on serum DHEA PON 1 FFA insulin and Apo- AI while it did not affect the Apo-B concentration.

This study aims to examine the effects of character body size, subject body size and product type on female adolescents’ attitudes toward the character. Given prior research showing that adolescents identify more strongly with those whom they view as similar to themselves, it is possible that heavy and obese adolescents will react more favorably to plus-size ad characters.

Two studies were conducted, one with females aged 12–14 and a second with females aged 15–17. Based on their body mass index, subjects were classified as of small/average size or overweight/obese. Ads featured either a thin, average-size or plus-size character, and promoted either a healthful or an unhealthful snack item.

In general, small/average size female adolescents responded more favorably toward thin characters, whereas their overweight/obese counterparts responded more favorably toward plus-size characters. Moreover, subjects’ responses were not moderated by the nutritional value (healthful vs unhealthful) of the product being advertised.

To effectively promote healthy foods to overweight/obese adolescents, it may be advantageous to incorporate plus-size characters. Additional research is needed, however, to determine whether this approach can effectively influence brand attitudes and consumption behaviors.

As obesity rates continue to rise, it has become vitally important to encourage healthier food choices among youth. To develop effective communication strategies, marketers need to better understand how young consumers respond to various advertising cues.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effect of character size and subject size on female adolescents’ attitudes toward the character.

This study aims to examine the impact of applicant weight and sex, job type and employer attitudes on employee screening decisions.

Participants rated one of four job applicants on their hiring suitability for four different entry‐level jobs with high or low visibility and physical demands. Applicants varied in sex and weight as depicted in a photograph, but their job applications were identical.

Results showed that overweight women experienced weight discrimination when applying for a job that was high in both visibility and physical demands.

Future research should examine weight discrimination in other racial and ethnic groups and with higher‐level jobs. Future research could also examine hiring decisions using a within‐subjects design to allow comparison across job applicants.

Employers' perceptions of applicant weight may lead them to make biased decisions about individuals who are overweight during the hiring process particularly for jobs that are high in visibility and physical demands.

There has been an alarming increase in obesity rates in the USA, but there is limited legal protection against weight discrimination. Employers who make stereotyped assumptions about individuals who are overweight may be missing out on valuable workforce talent. Similarly, individuals who are overweight may face discriminatory obstacles in finding work.

This study systematically manipulated two important job characteristics: visibility and physical demands and used a sample of adults as raters.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of methyl donor supplementation on anthropometric indices, body composition, glycemic control, lipid profile, homocysteine and appetite regulatory hormones in overweight and obese subjects.

This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial was conducted on overweight and obese subjects in Shiraz, Iran, in 2018. The 25 participants in each intervention and control group were required to take methyl donor supplement and placebo, respectively, for eight weeks. A variety of measurements was collected at baseline and the end of the study. The data were analyzed using SPSS 21 software.

The results indicated a significant reduction in weight, body mass index, body fat and waist and hip circumference (p < 0.001 for all parameters) within both groups and a significant improvement in skeletal muscle (p = 0.005), fat-free mass (p = 0.006), visceral fat area (p < 0.001) and body cell mass (p = 0.004) in the intervention group. Also, the results showed a significant difference between the two groups regarding serum homocysteine concentration at the end of the intervention (p < 0.001).

The results demonstrated that methyl donor supplementation might have effects on the improvement of anthropometric indices, body composition, glycemic and lipid profile status and appetite regulatory hormones among obese and overweight individuals. These effects might be attributed to their roles in energy metabolism, protein synthesis and epigenetics regulation.

Recent research has suggested the beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids on kidney function; however, differences in these benefits have not been well-documented with respect to different omega-3 fatty acid sources. Hence, the purpose of this study is to compare the effects of plants, marine sources of omega-3 fatty acids and their combination on biomarkers of renal function in overweight and obese individuals.

Ninety-nine overweight and obese women from a weight loss clinic received three weight-reducing diets with fish (300 g/week), walnuts (18 walnuts/week) or fish + walnuts (150 g fish + 9 walnuts/week) for 12 weeks. Serum biomarkers of renal function were measured at the beginning and the end of the intervention.

After 12 weeks, a reduction in serum creatinine was statistically higher for both the fish + walnut (−0.16 ± 0.09 mg/dL, p = 0.001) and walnut (−0.15 ± 0.05 mg/dL, p = 0.001) diets compared with the fish diet (−0.05 ± 0.04 mg/dL). A significant decrease was seen in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) level in the fish + walnut group (−0.12 ± 0.05 mg/dL, p = 0.03) and walnut group (−0.10 ± 0.04 mg/dL, p = 0.03) compared to the fish group (−0.05 ± 0.03 mg/dL). The effect of serum creatinine and BUN in the fish + walnut diet group was relatively higher than in the walnut diet group. Also, a significant difference was observed regarding weight loss in the fish + walnut diet (−7.2 ± 0.9 kg, p = 0.03) compared to in the other groups. The change in other indices was not different among the three diets.

This study found synergistic benefits of the plant and marine omega-3 fatty acids in reducing serum creatinine, BUN and weight compared with isolated marine omega-3s in overweight and obese women.

Building on the social marketing theory, this study aims to examine the relationship between family units and obesity in Nigeria; and the social marketing interventions used to reduce and prevent obesity in the Nigerian society.

This study adopted a semi-structured interview research design with 42 obese individuals in Nigeria.

The study findings show that the family unit an individual grows up in influences their consumption behaviour, which drives their obesity. The findings reveal that obese Nigerian citizens are willing to live a healthier lifestyle due to the direct and indirect medical costs associated with obesity. Furthermore, the findings disclose the social marketing interventions – local celebrity endorsements, healthy lifestyle promotions, reduced gym membership and affordable access to healthy foods and services – used to prevent and reduce the rising obesity rates in the Nigerian society.

The findings have important theoretical implication given the focus on consumption behaviour and obesity.

The study findings provide an avenue to guide government officials, policymakers and social marketers in shaping their public policy and social marketing interventions to encourage healthier consumption and lifestyle behaviours among families and individuals in the Nigerian society.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research study to investigate how family units in the emerging market of sub-Saharan Africa drive obesity and the social marketing interventions used to reduce and prevent obesity. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.