The Effects of Body Shaming And How You Can Overcome Them

TL;DR

• Body shaming refers to when people are discriminated based on their physical appearance. One of the most common types of body shaming is fat shaming. Also referred to as sizeism, weight bias, or weight stigma.
• Sizeism appears in a lot of places in society, like the healthcare industry. Doctors are more likely to mistreat, misdiagnose, mis-prescribe, and spend less time with overweight patients. 
• Sizeism can also lead to mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. 
• Our health is greatly influenced by the society we live in. Work/life balance, affordable healthy food, and safe neighborhoods are all key for our health.
• As individuals, we can combat weight bias and body shaming by paying attention to our own interactions with others, promoting body positive messages, avoiding those that reinforce sizeism, finding what works for our own health, and advocating for ourselves if we’re mistreated. 

The Problem with Before and After Pictures

There is one kind of post that I frequently see on the social media pages of fitness influencers and gyms that I really, really hate… the before and after weight loss picture. The first picture in this series is always poorly lit. Plus, the featured person is slouching and often looks super unhappy. In contrast, the second picture is brighter, the person is happy and standing tall, and looks visibly skinnier.

Don’t get me wrong, if you have started working out and/or eating in a more intentional way, documenting your progress can be majorly empowering. The problem with before and after pictures is that they can contribute to body shaming and sizeism.

Sizeism: The -ism You Probably Haven’t Heard Of

Sizeism is a form of body shaming. It’s when a person experiences discrimination or stigma based on their body size. It’s also frequently referred to as weight stigma or weight bias. That discrimination can happen at an individual level, like when people make negative comments, exclude or bully others, or look at people with disgust. 

Discrimination can also happen on a societal level. This is the case when people are denied access to resources like affordable healthcare because of their size. Or if they are discriminated against in job searches. We also see sizeism in those before and after pictures when we imply that people were not happy, attractive, or healthy in their larger bodies.

Currently, about 31.1% of the U.S. population is considered overweight. 42.5% of the US population is considered obese. Overweight and obesity are defined by a person’s BMI, which is calculated from their weight and height. If you have a BMI over 25, you are considered overweight or obese. 

Society’s Role in Overweight, Obesity, and the Decline of Body Acceptance

Unfortunately, BMI way oversimplifies our health. For example, it doesn’t take into account our muscle mass, how fat is distributed on our body, and other things that actually indicate whether we are healthy or not. Importantly, but rarely mentioned, individuals are underweight if their BMIs are below 18.5. Overweight, obesity, and underweight are all associated with health issues and a higher likelihood of death. In fact, being underweight has the highest risk of death!

As rates of overweight and obesity have increased, the United States with its “pick yourself up by your bootstraps” cultural mentality has tended to default on a common response, “It’s your fault.” We’ve blamed individuals while ignoring that society should get a whole lot of the blame. 

For example, healthy food is super expensive. This especially sucks because income inequality is higher than at any point since before the Great Depression. Unhealthy food is marketed relentlessly, especially at children. Plus, the rise of office jobs, exhausting work schedules, less recess time, expensive team sports, and the lack of unsupervised play time for kids has meant that activity levels at all ages have decreased dramatically.

This is not to mention the number of chemicals we are exposed to that can affect our weight (like BPAs in plastic). Or genetic conditions that increase our probability of being overweight or obese. However, it’s easier (and cheaper!) to blame individuals.

On top of all that, it’s a common misconception that weight stigma is a good thing. Many people believe that shaming people for their weight will make them more motivated to lose weight. However, research finds that body shaming just makes our health worse.

Body Shaming Isn’t Just a Moral Issue, It Can Kill

Body Shaming and Discrimination in Healthcare Setting

For example, one study found that health professionals spent 20% less time with overweight patients and 30% less time with obese patients than patients with a “normal” weight. Other studies found that individuals who are overweight or obese are much more likely to be misdiagnosed or mistreated by health care providers. Doctors have even reportedly missed tumors because they presume the patient is just overweight.

Unsurprisingly, overweight and obese patients who experience discrimination in a healthcare setting are more likely to delay or avoid treatment. Many report embarrassment and fears of the healthcare system. As a partial result of all these things, overweight and obese patients are 165% more likely to have undiagnosed illnesses. 

Plus, medical studies tend to exclude people who are overweight or obese. This means that many prescribed dosages and treatments are not necessarily adequate for people of all sizes.

Body Shaming and Mental Health

The effects of body shaming and sizeism extend beyond their physical health consequences. Indeed, body shaming has harmful effects on mental health problems as well. Weight bias internalization is a fancy term for when individuals start criticizing and stereotyping themselves because of their body shape. Weight bias internalization is a risk factor for depressive symptoms, anxiety, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, and eating disorders. A Gallup poll found that 23.3% of obese individuals reported having depression, compared to 15% of “normal” weight individuals. In a study of middle-aged women, these gaps were even larger.

Taken to its extreme, the internalization of weight bias can turn into dysmorphic disorder. You may have heard of dysmorphic disorder or body dysmorphia because of actress Lili Reinhart, who was recently in the news for being candid about her own experiences with body shame. Body dysmorphia is when you are fixated on a flaw you perceive in your appearance. For many people, this flaw is related to what they view as excess weight in some or all parts of their body.

Body dysmorphia can have detrimental effects on self-esteem. It is also a risk factor for suicidal thoughts, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, substance use, repeated cosmetic procedures, and eating disorders.

Body Shaming and Eating Disorders

Body shaming and the fetishization of skinniness can lead to unhealthy behaviors like eating disorders regardless of your weight, race/ethnicity, gender, or even age. Indeed, weight shaming can start at a very young age. Researchers did a study of 3rd grade girls. 35% of the girls in the study said that they wanted to lose weight. 23% were afraid to eat because of fears of weight gain. And 23.8% said that they’d tried to lose weight by dieting. These attitudes were especially common among Black girls. 

It’s a common misconception that eating disorders are a “White woman problem.” But 25% of people with eating disorders are men and 20-26% are people of color. However, men and women of color and White men are less likely to seek help for their eating disorders. They are at a greater risk of being hospitalized as a result.^​

Many people who are considered overweight or obese also have eating disorders. However, doctors commonly miss these eating disorders because diagnoses of some eating disorders are based on a patient having a BMI that is lower than expected. 

What Should We Do as a Society to Overcome Sizeism?

All of this is to say that our current system isn’t working. Discriminating against people because of their weight helps nothing. It just makes everyone feel worse and can lead to self-destructive behaviors. Plus, we all know we need to eat healthy and exercise. So what can we do instead?

As mentioned above, there are a number of things society does and doesn’t do that makes it easier for us to be unhealthy. Consequently, there are a number of things society can do to support health lifestyles. For example, safe neighborhoods, sidewalks, and parks help adults and children stay active. Making children’s sports more affordable would also help improve children’s health. Promoting flexible work schedules, work from home opportunities, and work/life balance enables adults to have the time to exercise, cook, and have less stress. And the healthcare system should treat individuals equitably, regardless of their weight.

Finally, we would all benefit from a shift in the societal mindset. In some ways we are seeing this happen with the growth of body acceptance movements. The key with these movements is that we need to switch our focus as individuals and a society to feeling healthy and recognizing that healthy is not a one size fits all. 

What Should We Do as Individuals?

Interact Mindfully

Societal changes will have the biggest impact on sizeism. However, there’s a lot we can do as individual. For example, we can do our best to question whether we may have sizeist beliefs or behave in a way that reinforces sizeism. We might notice whether we make demeaning or negative comments towards friends, family members or acquaintances that reinforce body shame. Even if these comments are made in a joking manner, they are far from harmless fun.

The same goes for jokes about people at the expense of their weight. Or making recommendations to people like suggesting they join a gym. Comments like these may seem well-meaning but can have negative effects on a person’s mental health. Remember that the idea of joining a gym or eating healthy is not new information to people.

Instead, aim to offer love and support. You can ask people if they’d like to join you in health-promoting activities. However, you should focus on doing something fun and healthy together, not losing weight.

Take Social Media With a Grain of Salt

In recent years, people have become increasingly aware that social media platforms reinforce and even promote body image issues, especially among young people. Indeed, Instagram, TikTok, and other social media sites are overrun with images of people we deem to have the perfect body. Influencers’ use of filters and editing adds further to this sense that a perfect body is achievable and desirable.

A number of brands, including in the fashion industry (not usually a place for body acceptance), have moved towards showcasing a wide range of body sizes. However, there is still a long way to go. As individuals, we can support companies that promote body acceptance and fill our social media feed with accounts that make us feel good, rather than those that promote weight-stigmatizing information or images.

Cultivate a Holistically Healthy Lifestyle

Additionally, you should try to cultivate a lifestyle that is healthy for you. A healthy lifestyle has nothing to do with your own appearance or body type, and everything to do with how you feel.

A healthy lifestyle involves feeding yourself foods that feel nourishing and make you feel good. This kind of healthy eating mostly includes fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats or vegetarian proteins. However, it also sometimes includes foods that are delicious and do not fit any of the listed groups–like Reese’s peanut butter cups. 

Healthy lifestyles are also about taking part in activities that make you feel full and alive. Like walks with friends! Or dance classes! Or team sports! A healthy lifestyle also involves getting treatment for any mental health concerns and having the space to self-reflect and decide what actually makes you feel good. 

I want to acknowledge that a healthy lifestyle is a privilege. Income, work, kids, disability, all make attaining these things harder. However, to the extent possible, it’s worth prioritizing behaviors that support you and your health. 

If you’d like more ideas, I love this list of self esteem and body image practices from Sunny Days.

Final Thoughts on Body Shaming​

To sum up, our Western society tends to glorify skinniness over actually being healthy. This has led to sizeism and body shaming. However, the impact of body shaming is far reaching, influencing our perception of our own body (regardless of our size), our mental health, and our physical health. The only thing sizeist beliefs and policies slim down is our own and others’ self-worth.

To combat sizeism, we can do more to support health as a society. As individuals, the best things we can do are to treat others (and ourselves!) with kindness and acceptance, avoid social media scrolling that makes us feels worse about ourselves, cultivate a lifestyle that is healthy for us, and when possible, support policies that support our health. After all, true adulting is about being caring and respectful towards others and ourselves.

Other Resources for Body Shaming

The Emily Program is a leader in eating disorder recovery and has a number of great resources. The National Eating Disorder Association also has a helpline and help finder tool.

If you or your child has been victimized through social media because of their weight, you can reach out to the Social Media Victims Law Center. For their contact info and more great information on this topic, follow this link.

If you’d like related information, check out my post on creating a workout routine that you love and my post on setting boundaries.

Did you see any things here you’d like to learn more about or would like to add? Let me know in the comments! And if you enjoyed this article, I would love for you to consider liking, subscribing, or sharing with others.