(NewsNation) — Lawmakers in Colorado, America's healthiest state, are expected to pass legislation that bans bias based on "fatphobia" to prevent employers and landlords from discriminating against those who are overweight.
Fatphobia is defined as the aversion to fatness or fat people. The law aims to prevent landlords from denying rentals based on weight limits and to implement workplace accommodations for overweight Americans.
Fat acceptance is a growing trend in the U.S., with major cities enacting legislation to protect those who are overweight. New York enacted a similar fatphobia law last week, as U.S. obesity rates continue to increase. Massachusetts, Vermont and New Jersey are also considering similar laws.
The Rocky Mountain state is the skinniest in the country, boasting the lowest obesity percentage at 25%, according to data from Trust for America's Health. In contrast, West Virginia, the unhealthiest state, has a 71% obesity rate.
The most obese U.S. states lack laws against weight discrimination. However, five of the healthiest states are proposing anti-weight discrimination laws.
Kristal Hartman, an activist with the Obesity Action Coalition, expresses that the initiatives will foster greater acceptance for overweight Americans.
“Just to humanize this disease, and to take away the blame, and the shame is incredibly important, just like it is all of the other types of discrimination that these laws are looking to abolish. This is a huge step forward for us, and we really hope that this starts a grassroots effort across the US. So, weight stigma, weight bias, and weight discrimination is a thing of the past instead of part of our present or our future," she said.
Colorado aims to pass the fatphobia legislation sometime in 2024.
