Understanding and Combatting Weight Stigma: Weight Stigma Awareness Week 2024

Written by Anna Allshouse | September 23, 2024

As Weight Stigma Awareness Week unfolds, we are reminded of the work we need to do to acknowledge and combat weight bias within society. Weight stigma continues to be a significant, and often overlooked, form of discrimination that affects millions of people daily. 

What is Weight Stigma?

Weight stigma refers to the prejudice, discrimination, bullying, unfair treatment, and negative stereotypes directed toward individuals based on their body size or weight. Weight stigma is rooted in fatphobia and racism . 

Weight stigma perpetuates harmful stereotypes and reinforces the false idea that thinness equates to health and worth. It also reinforces the harmful misconception that people in larger bodies should be labeled as “unhealthy” without consideration of their actual well-being, supporting harmful assumptions about their lifestyles, habits, and character. This stigmatization contributes to a detrimental cycle where people feel pressured to pursue weight loss at any cost, often through extreme dieting, exercise, or other harmful methods. While weight stigma impacts people of all body sizes, it most negatively impacts people in larger bodies.

Weight stigma is also hard to escape, as it shows up in the workplace, education, healthcare, families, social settings, media and more. 

Harmful Effects of Weight Stigma

Internalized negative messages about weight and self

• This self-directed stigma can cause feelings of worthlessness, body dissatisfaction, and low self-esteem

• Can lead to disordered eating behaviors, such as binge eating or extreme dieting, in an attempt to conform to societal standards

• These messages can lead to worse mental health, including heightened anxiety and depression

Issues related to healthcare

• Individuals may fear being judged, shamed, or having all health issues attributed to weight in healthcare settings

• Weight bias can lead to delayed diagnoses, inadequate treatment, and even result in medical neglect

• Some individuals may put off healthcare altogether in order to avoid these adverse experiences

• If you’re interested in learning more about weight stigma in medical care check out this podcast episode: https://youtu.be/FHPA3bo1aH0?si=SN2Lh48S8xjqa2Hv

Social Isolation 

• Weight stigma can lead to feelings of shame or embarrassment, causing individuals to withdraw socially

• The fear of being ridiculed or rejected can also lead to social withdraw and loneliness

Reduced quality of life

• Constant exposure to weight stigma can diminish one’s overall sense of well-being and mental health

Eating Disorders and Weight Stigma

Weight stigma plays a significant role in the development and perpetuation of eating disorders in our society. 

The Impact of Weight Stigma on Eating Disorders and Recovery: 

Exacerbates Disordered Eating Behaviors

•  Weight stigma fuels disordered eating habits as individuals attempt to conform to societal expectations around body size

Undermines Body Acceptance

• Weight stigma makes it difficult for individuals to develop a healthy and accepting relationship with their bodies

• Maintains a fear of weight gain

Delays or Deters Help Seeking Behaviors

• Individuals experiencing weight stigma may avoid seeking help due to fear of being shamed or judged in therapeutic and healthcare settings

Difficulty Receiving Appropriate care

• Individuals in larger bodies are less likely to be diagnosed with restrictive eating disorders even when demonstrating restrictive behaviors

•  Individuals in larger bodies often receive less effective eating disorder care due to healthcare providers’ biases

Weight Stigma and The Importance of HAES Therapists

Health at Every Size (HAES) is an approach to health that emphasizes body diversity, well-being, and self-care without focusing on weight or size. It promotes the idea that people can pursue health at any weight by listening to their body’s needs and engaging in behaviors that support physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

Key principles of HAES include:

• Body Acceptance: Recognizing that bodies naturally come in different sizes and shapes, HAES encourages acceptance rather than striving for a particular weight.

• Intuitive Eating: HAES advocates for eating based on hunger, fullness, and satisfaction cues, rather than restrictive dieting or calorie counting.

• Joyful Movement: Encourages people to engage in physical activity that feels enjoyable, rather than exercising solely for the purpose of weight loss.

• Respectful Care: HAES challenges weight bias in healthcare settings and promotes a compassionate, non-judgmental approach to care.

By promoting these values, HAES shifts the focus from weight control to overall well-being, aiming to create a more inclusive, positive approach to health.

Health at Every Size (HAES) is an approach used by therapists at Monarch Wellness & Psychotherapy. Clinicians utilizing HAES values challenge weight stigma, promote body acceptance, and encourage clients to listen to their bodies. 

Finding a therapist who utilizes HAES principles can be critical in countering weight stigma, particularly in the context of eating disorder recovery. 

Combatting Weight Stigma

Here are some ways that we can all work to combat weight stigma:

• Identify bias and assumptions 

• Promote body diversity and acceptance

• Use non-polarizing language about bodies and food

• Shop at size-inclusive clothing stores

• Educate others on weights stigma and its harmful effects

• Petition for weight-inclusive training and care for healthcare professionals

• Speak up when you witness overt or covert fatphobia

It is also not too late to participate in Weight Stigma Awareness Week! Find more information at: https://weightstigmaawarenessweek.org/