Gender Inequality and Socio‐Economic Disadvantages Associated With Obesity in Women Compared to Men: A Rapid Review and Meta‐Analysis of Observational Studies From High‐Income Countries

Objective To assess whether obesity‐related socio‐economic disadvantages in wages, employment, and workplace discrimination equally affect women compared to men in high‐income countries. Method We searched databases and Google Scholar from inception to March 2025. Data on wages, employment, and perceived discrimination were pooled using random‐effects meta‐analysis where possible. Primary effect measures were obesity‐versus‐comparison ratios for continuous outcomes (wage ratio, WR) and odds ratios (OR) for dichotomous outcomes, each with 95% confidence intervals (CI), stratified by women versus men. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I 2 statistic and τ 2 . Results From 3495 screened citations, 17 studies (2004–2021) were included. Pooled effect estimates suggested greater socio‐economic disadvantages among women with obesity, although subgroup differences were not statistically significant ( p > 0.05). Meta‐analysis revealed a significant wage penalty overall (WR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.91–0.99; I 2 = 93.0%, τ 2 = 0.003), which appeared larger for women (WR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.82–1.01) than men (WR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.95–0.98). The association between obesity and employment was nonsignificant overall (OR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.86–1.02), with a larger effect estimate for women (OR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.69–1.06) than men (OR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.87–1.05). Individuals with obesity were over four times more likely to report workplace discrimination (OR = 4.62, 95% CI: 1.04–20.53), with a higher, but not statistically significant, estimate for women (OR = 5.65, 95% CI: 0.57–55.89) than men (OR = 4.37, 95% CI: 0.24–79.14). Narrative synthesis confirmed consistent wage and employment penalties for women with obesity across countries. Conclusion In high‐income countries, obesity is associated with socio‐economic disadvantages. A consistent pattern of stronger associations was observed for women, though statistical evidence for sex differences remains inconclusive.