Meet weight stigma scholar Dr. Puhl

Rebecca M. Puhl, PhD

Dr. Rebecca Puhl is the Deputy Director at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University where she is also a Senior Research Scientist. Dr. Puhl is responsible for identifying and coordinating research and policy efforts aimed at reducing weight bias.

Dr. Puhl received her BA in psychology from Queen's University in Ontario, and her MS and PhD in Clinical Psychology from Yale University. Her clinical training at the Yale Center for Eating & Weight Disorders emphasized treating patients with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and obesity. She completed her clinical internship in Clinical Health Psychology at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System before gaining additional postdoctoral experience at Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Puhl has been studying weight bias for over a decade, and has published a range of experimental studies, population-based studies, review papers, and chapters on this topic. Her recent publications address the prevalence and origins of weight stigma, interventions to reduce weight bias, and the impact of weight stigma on emotional and physical health. She has presented on these topics to academic, professional, and community groups across the country, and her research has received national and international media attention. Dr. Puhl serves on the Council of The Obesity Society, and is an editor of the book Weight Bias: Nature, Extent, and Remedies (Guilford Press, 2005). She also served as guest editor for a supplement issue in the journal Obesity, entitled "Weight Bias: New Science on a Significant Social Problem".

View Dr. Puhl's current initiatives on weight bias at the Rudd Center.

Contact: (203) 432-7354; rebecca.puhl@yale.edu

In the News

Workzone: Are Heavier Employees More Likely To Be Passed Over For Jobs?
A look at a study showing heavier employees to be more likely to be passed over for jobs
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, July 2014

Body Image and Weight Bias
A discussion with Rebecca Puhl about Weight Bias
WYPR, July 2014

Too Fat To Run?' Woman's Blog Battles Fat-Shaming, Inspires Runners of all Body Types
Woman's Blog Battles Fat-Shaming, Inspires Runners of all Body Types
Today Health, July 2014

Rudd Center Releases Guidelines for Portraying Obesity in the Media
Coverage of Rudd Center's obesity in the media guidelines
Lexology, June 2014

Most in US Support Laws to Crack Down on Weight Discrimination
Rudd study finds public support for legal protections against weight discrimination
Reuters, May 2014

Publications

Puhl RM, Neumark-Sztainer D, Austin SB, Luedicke J, King KM. Setting policy priorities to address eating disorders and weight stigma: views from the field of eating disorders and the US general public. BMC Public Health. 2014 Jun:1-18.

Suh Y, Puhl RM, Liu S, Fleming Milici F. Support for Laws to Prohibit Weight Discrimination in the United States: Public Attitudes from 2011 to 2013. Obesity. 2014 Apr:1-8.

Kyle TK, Puhl RM. Putting People First in Obesity. Obesity. 2014 Mar:1.

Lesser LL, Puhl RM. Alternatives to Monetary Incentives for Employee Weight Loss. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2014 Mar;46(4):429-431.

Schvey NA, Puhl RM, Brownell KD. The Stress of Stigma: Exploring the Effect of Weight Stigma on Cortisol Reactivity. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2014 Jan:1-7.

Puhl RM, Luedicke J, Grilo CM. Obesity Bias in Training: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Observations Among Advanced Trainees in Professional Health Disciplines. Obesity. 2013 Dec:1-8.

Puhl RM, Luedicke J, DePierre JA. Parental Concerns about Weight-Based Victimization in Youth. Childhood Obesity. 2013 Dec;9(6):1-9.

Puhl RM, Luedicke J. Parental support for policy measures and school-based efforts to address weight-based victimization of overweight youth. International Journal of Obesity. 2013 Nov:1-8.

Puhl RM, Latner JD, King KM, Luedicke J. Weight bias among professionals treating eating disorders: Attitudes about treatment and perceived patient outcomes. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2013 Sep:1-11.

Puhl RM, Luedicke J, Peterson JL. Public Reactions to Obesity-Related Health Campaigns. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2013 July;46(1):36-48.