Rhiannon Yetsenga, Rhea Banerjee, Jared Streatfeild, Katherine McGregor, S Bryn Austin, Belle W X Lim, Phillippa C Diedrichs, Kayla Greaves, Josiemer Mattei, Rebecca M Puhl, Jaime C Slaughter-Acey, Iyiola Solanke, Kendrin R Sonneville, Katrina Velasquez, Simone Cheung
This study estimated the social and economic costs of body dissatisfaction and appearance-based discrimination (specifically, weight and skin-shade discrimination) in the United States (USA) in the 2019 calendar year. We used a prevalence-based approach and a cost-of-illness method to estimate the annual cost of harmful appearance ideals for cases of body dissatisfaction and discrimination based on weight and skin shade. Impacts on conditions/illnesses such as eating disorders that are attributable to body dissatisfaction, weight discrimination and skin-shade discrimination were identified through a quasi-systematic literature review, which captured financial, economic, and non-financial costs...
March 23, 2024: Eating Disorders