Fat and black: Dual discrimination of overweight and obese minorities in health care settings

Unaddressed health disparities in medical care among racial and ethnic minorities are a growing national concern. African Americans, for example, experience a greater rate of obesity and related preventable disease than do majority white populations. Similarly, a significant number of preventable deaths in racial and ethnic minority populations occur due to racial and ethnic health disparities that exist in health care treatment and provision. Historically minorities, such as African Americans, have experienced medical mistrust in health care settings due to a long history of unethical care and treatment. Current research has identified areas of medical mistrust that stem from discrimination that minorities continue to experience in medical care. Research has documented that medical mistrust of providers and medical care systems is a barrier to patient health care utilization. This research explores the importance of perceived race-based and weight-based discrimination in medical care settings. While perceived race-based discrimination remains a concern, the growing obesity epidemic has also made those who are overweight and or obese more vulnerable to subtle or overt forms of discrimination in health care settings. Utilizing data from the CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk in Young Adults) Study, this research explores the importance of combined race-based and weight-based discrimination in health care settings on patient utilization rates and other patient health outcomes.