Canada has human rights laws that protect people from discrimination and they should include direct mention of people who are obese, says Bill Bogart, a law professor at the University of Windsor. Bogart wrote a book called Regulating Obesity? Government, Society, and Questions of Health. He note that research indicates discrimination can make obese people sick.
Human rights laws at both the provincial and federal levels protect people from discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, race and disability. Some obese people have argued discrimination based on disability and have won legal cases. Air But the way the laws are written in some provinces can make that difficult and many obese people do not feel this method is appropriate.
Want to be judged on merits, not measurements
“Many people who are obese do not consider themselves disabled. They are simply large,” says Bogart. “They want to be judged on their merits, not their measurements. That’s the basis on which I suggest we move to another situation in terms of trying to protect people who are obese from discrimination.”
ListenA solution would be to include the specific term obesity in human rights legislation or to write in a ban discrimination based on appearance.
Rates of severe obesity are going up dramatically in Canada. Bogart says it’s time Canadians have a conversation about ending the derision and discrimination obese people face at school, at work and in public places.
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