Why fat shaming doesn’t work

With the rise of social media, we’re seeing more and more fat shaming every day. Whenever someone in a larger body posts a picture of themselves, they’ll be trolled and shamed for promoting obesity. There’s also mention of how the poster will have a heart attack or get diabetes. None of this is helpful.

This blog post was inspired by me seeing the social media storm towards Abercrombie and Fitch (A&F) when they posted a model in a larger body and people shared their thoughts: 

People were quick to attack, so I thought a post was needed to explain why fat shaming can actually do more harm than good.

Weight doesn’t equal health: 

I think the first issue is that a lot of people assume weight equals health, which isn’t the case. There are so many aspects to health apart from body size. Health can include stress, sleep, disease, exercise levels, social interactions, drug/alcohol use, and diet to name a few. You can’t tell all of this just by looking at someone.

Someone could be doing all the ‘right’ things and be overweight just like someone could be doing something harmful to their health but in a smaller body.

I also saw this tweet:

This tweet compares the old models A&F used to have versus the model used now. Firstly, this isn’t even accurate as A&F still use models now that look like those on the right. And we can't assume that the models on the right are ‘healthy’. We don’t know anything about their health apart from the fact that they present to us in a slimmer body.

There's lots of research that shows that fashion models are more likely to have disordered eating habits and feel pressure to lose weight. 

One study found that 56% of models skip meals, 8% make themselves vomit, and 7% use cocaine to help control their weight. These aren’t behaviours that we should be encouraging either. And I’m not saying that the models in this image engage in unhealthy behaviours to maintain their weight, but it’s very common within the industry.

Models tend to have BMIs in the underweight category – less than 18.5kg/m2. And an underweight BMI is just as harmful as an overweight BMI. More and more research shows that the risk of death from various causes/diseases is higher in those that are underweight compared to overweight.

But it’s important to differentiate between overweight and obese. As being obese (BMI 30kg/m2 or more) can increase health risks further. All in all, you can't tell how healthy someone is by looking at their body. It’s not that simple.

Fat shaming doesn’t lead to weight loss: 

Another piece of the puzzle is the fact that fat shaming people doesn’t lead to them losing weight. The stress caused by weight stigma leads to people consuming more calories and being less likely to exercise. This then leads to weight gain.

One reason for this is that people seek comfort in food after being shamed for their weight. For example, a chocolate bar may provide some quick relief to help someone feel better. They may also engage in binge eating or disordered eating habits which result in eating more. So, food is used as a coping mechanism, which leads to weight gain, which leads to more shaming. It’s a cycle that can be difficult to get out of.

Exercise is another part of this too. People that face weight stigma are likely to have a poor body image and lower self-esteem which leads to them believing they’re less able to do exercise. Exercise is usually seen as something only for ‘thin’ people. As a result of this belief, they're less likely to do exercise, which contributes to weight gain.

Also. fat stigma and shame are linked with depression and anxiety. So, mean comments online may take seconds to type but have a lasting impact on someone’s life. None of which will help them lose weight.

Fatphobia can be dangerous: 

Fatphobia is the fear or hatred of fat bodies. There are many ways fatphobia causes harm, but I’ll be focusing on fatphobia within healthcare.

Unfortunately, fatphobia is present within healthcare professionals. Doctors have been shown to think that obese people are ‘lazy’ ‘lack self-control’ and that their problems are self-inflicted. This can all lead to people that are overweight or obese being less likely to go to the doctor for fear of being shamed. This can delay investigations and treatments and lead to worse health outcomes.

One study in particular found that obese women are less likely to attend appointments for cancer screenings. And by delaying the screening, if they are found to have cancer it’s likely to be more advanced by the time it’s found. Early cancer detection is crucial to improve the chance of treating it.

The assumption that obese people lack willpower is dangerous and unhelpful. Patients have reported feeling a lack of empathy from healthcare professionals and that their concerns are dismissed. This then leads to feeling stressed and upset. High levels of stress hormones can have also negative health effects like increasing the risk of heart disease.

Medical fatphobia leads to more harm than good. Obesity is complex and it’s not as simple as having more willpower to eat better or exercise more, despite what healthcare professionals think. It seems the general public think so too, based on another tweet I saw:

As I've covered earlier, health is not just about diet and exercise, this is an oversimplistic view. And saying people in larger bodies shouldn't be accepted is just cruel. I also just thought I’d note that malnutrition costs the NHS £23.5 billion, but no one ever seems too concerned about this.

What to do if you’re concerned about someone’s weight: 

I think commenting on someone’s body is not helpful, whether they’ve lost or gained weight. The person is likely to have noticed that their body has changed and feedback from people isn’t what they asked for. You also don’t know the reasons behind their body changing so it’s best not to assume.

If you’re really concerned about someone’s body, you can ask about it without directly mentioning weight. A simple ‘How have you been doing lately?’ can tell you a lot more about how they're feeling than their body can. And it may reveal the reasons behind why their weight has changed. And remember that weight changes aren't always in people's control too. For example, some illnesses can lead to weight gain. 

Knowing the root cause can allow you to support them better rather than making comments about weight.

This is a topic I’m really passionate about and hopefully this blog post has given you some food for thought. Fat shaming does more harm than good and hopefully we can shift people’s mindsets away from this.

Key points: 

• Weight doesn’t equal health. There are so many other factors that can determine your health like stress, exercise, social interactions, and drug/alcohol use.
• Fat shaming and stigma doesn’t lead to weight loss. People tend to gain weight after experiencing weight stigma.
• Fatphobia in the healthcare system can lead to people delaying treatment and so having worse health outcomes.
• If you’re concerned about someone’s weight, try to find the reason behind why their weight has changed without shaming them.

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Bye for now! 👋

References:

BMI and mortality risk: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6249991/ 

Models and disordered eating: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28138974/ and https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18355925/

What is fatphobia: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8293029/

Fat shaming and depression Alimoradi Z et al., Weight-related stigma and psychological distress: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Clinical Nutrition, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2019.10.016

Fat shaming and weight gain: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4714720/  and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6452164/

Malnutrition cost: https://www.networks.nhs.uk/nhs-networks/sussex-dysphagia-forum/news/managing-malnutrition-bapen-report

Medical fatphobia: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4381543/ and https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16231037/