It is hardly news that obese people suffer tremendous discrimination. The bias gets often overlooked in other fields, but when it comes to the dating world, obesity-related discrimination is weightier than anywhere else. QuackQuack, a dating app, ran a survey and a poll among 15k users between the ages of 23 and 33, both from tier 1 and 2 cities, to analyse the impact of obesity on an average human’s dating life.
The opinion poll asked people if their weight issues had weighed in on their relationships. Around 27% said they have faced rampant judgment and rejection owing to the stigma around obesity. They mentioned that even after you lose the “unwanted” weight, it remains a challenge to gain back your lost confidence and self-esteem.
Body Image Issues
With technology comes filters, social media platforms are full of pictures that would put supermodels to shame. Body image issues are rising at an alarming rate. Young people challenge themselves at a dangerous rate to stay fit and in shape. 33% of young daters between the age of 20 and 25 commented on feeling an overbearing need to look their best at all times. They mentioned how staying fit seemed like the only way to find a date and how they have been conditioned to think that an obese person is not worthy of true love.
Love Vs Love Handles
With the rise of online dating, the dating pattern has seen a drastic change. 45% of the app’s female users above the age of 28 voiced their disregard for their match’s weight. These women expressed that a person’s nature and core values weigh over their body type heavily enough to make it seem insignificant.
While some find their match’s weight trivial enough to overlook, 21% of users ranging between 23 and 26 disclosed that they would prefer someone on the fitter side. They backed their statement by saying they think everyone has a choice to be healthy and obesity should not be encouraged in the name of body positivity. It can lead to life-threatening conditions.
Numbers Game
Dating is a numbers game of more levels than you know. From the number of appealing qualities, you have, to the number displayed on your scale, everything is decided by the number of matches you will get, regardless of the mode of dating. According to more than 46% of daters from tier one and tier two cities, while body-shaming is called out and discouraged with slogans of ‘all bodies are beautiful,’ the slim and trim body type still remains a crowd favourite, especially when it comes to dating. Your desirability is often dictated by your body weight.
Men and Women Alike
The survey shows that obesity-related discrimination is not partial towards one gender. 28% of male users above 28yrs disclosed having faced multiple rejections owing to their weight. Similarly, 31% of women between 25yrs and 30yrs said they faced difficulty in finding a date who did not mind their size. On a tragic note, many of these daters faced several failures in the traditional form of dating before finding their ideal match from online dating platforms.
The Virtual World Is Kinder Than the Real One
The findings from the survey show that 47% of people with failed attempts at finding love through a traditional format of dating found their perfect match in the virtual world. 28% of these people, between 26 and 28 years and working professionals, mentioned that online dating platforms offer you the chance to know your match before you meet them in person. It not only lets an overweight person disclose their condition to their match, but also allows the couples to discuss it at length, making it possible for one to gauge the other’s view around the issue.
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Ravi Mittal, Founder and CEO, QuackQuack commented, “Our app sees approximately 24 million chats per month, and we notice our users discussing fitness-related matters more than obesity, possibly stemming from the stigma around being overweight. Our app, trusted by 20 million users, is trying to evolve in manners that make our users feel more comfortable in their own skin.”
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