Weight stigma (and the biases that come with it) has an incredibly damaging impact upon people's morale, motivation, and even their self-control. Research has come a long way in spreading the news that negative judgments based on folks' waistlines do far more harm than good, but the knee-jerk response to stereotype and reject heavier people is still a pervasive problem. Particularly, a new study shows, when it comes to evaluating job applicants — and especially if they happen to be female.

A team of psychologists from the University of Surrey and the University of Oxford analyzed how male and female interviewers judged the attractiveness of potential employees. Female interviewers judged heavier men and women applicants as equally unattractive. But men gave their own gender a pass for being overweight, ranking male applicants' attractiveness as less of a problem while expressing a noticeable distaste for overweight women.

Does this mean heavier people are less likely to get hired? Though this particular study can't say for sure, other research indicates that people with high body mass indexes have often been overlooked for initial job offers and may be more likely to get passed over for promotions than their conventionally skinnier colleagues.

"[W]hat we have shown is that weight is intrinsically linked to attractiveness and that women are the harshest judges and most harshly judged," lead study author professor Sonia Oreffice, Ph.D., said in a press release.

Challenging yourself to be less judgmental isn't easy. But you can give it a shot by at least questioning your reaction to another person's appearance. Do you have any evidence, apart from a social stereotype, that the individual you're judging can't hack it on the job or wouldn't be a trustworthy person? No? Then try giving them the benefit of the doubt before shunning them. Not only can this shield them from the negative consequences of stigma, studies suggest that the less you judge others, the better you'll feel (about yourself, life) in general.

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