A Kansas University professor will appear on national television today to warn about rampant prejudice against overweight people — particularly women.

Parents are less likely to help an overweight daughter pay for college than a daughter who is of average weight, said Kansas University psychology professor Chris Crandall, who is scheduled to appear today on “The Jane Pauley Show.”

“The stereotype of overweight people has been that they are lazy and aren’t bright,” Crandall said. “People are stereotyping their own kids and believing that their own kids don’t fit the mold of a college student. That’s what I think, and it’s an unfortunate situation.”

Crandall said research showed overweight people were under-represented in the workforce, and that they were paid less than their thinner counterparts with similar skills. It also takes longer for overweight people to be promoted.

“People — both lean and fat people — have negative attitudes toward fat people, and it colors their judgment of their co-workers, employees and job applicants,” said Crandall. “It is a waste of human talent.”

Today’s “The Jane Pauley Show” explores how media depictions of “unconventional beauty” are changing. One topic of discussion: the off-Broadway production of “Fat Pig,” a play written and directed by KU graduate Neil LaBute, which features a character who starts dating an overweight woman.

“What they wanted to know is if the prejudices against overweight people — particularly women — (are) reducing,” Crandall said of the Pauley show’s producers.

He added: “LaBute’s answer is, really not.”

Patty Metzler, a clinical dietitian at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, said obesity was a complex problem. Bone size and family history can contribute to a perceived weight problem, even if you’re exercising and otherwise healthy.

“I probably would agree that there are prejudices against people who are overweight,” she said. “We are a society that focuses on the way we look. People shouldn’t be judged by their body size, and that’s something that may tend to happen in society.”

Crandall said understanding those factors would reduce discrimination.

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“If you believe that (being overweight is) a function of willpower and choices and laziness, then you’re pretty likely to express a pretty good dose of prejudice,” he said. “But if you believe that there’s a significant genetic component or physiological component, then you are not as likely to express that prejudice.”

He added: “If you think about your prejudices against fat people, you might step back from it. And that is a great thing because there are all kinds of overweight people who are smart, capable, talented people, and you hate to waste them.”