Fat stigma making us miserable, say experts

Being overweight doesn't necessarily make a person distraught, researchers are learning. Rather, it's the teasing, judgment and unsolicited advice directed at overweight people that can cause the greatest psychological harm.

"People assume there is a direct relationship between how much people weigh and their psychological health," said Jeffrey Hunger, a doctoral candidate in social psychology at the University of California. Hunger and his team found that those who were obese were more likely to report problems like depression, anxiety, substance abuse and low self-esteem if they had experienced weight-based discrimination in the past. It could also lead to self-sabotaging behaviors like avoiding the gym or doctor's office in order to protect against future stigmatisation.

Stigma from doctors is part of a larger cultural bias against the overweight that is amplified by the mass media, from reality television to advertisements to health magazines, said Courtney Bailey, amedia scholar in popular culture and an associate professor. "It's done under the context of health, which makes it harder to critique," she said. Bailey says that fat stigma intensified after 9/11, when Americans' sense of vulnerability translated into increased animosity toward the fat body. "Culturally fat bodies signify moral weakness, incompetence, the list goes on. Those are also things that threaten national security," she said.

Negative stereotypes of fat people are reinforced in entertainment media, from children's shows to reality television, said Sarah Domoff, a research fellow in clinical psychology at the University of Michigan.

In one study, Dr. Domoff exposed undergraduate students to shows like "The Biggest Loser," in which weight loss occurs rapidly and within a punishing context. She found that study participants who weren't trying to lose weight expressed greater disdain of obese people than those who were. Many also expressed a stronger belief that weight is controllable and that a person who fails to lose weight is not trying hard enough.

"We're seeing a lot of responsibility put on the person themselves," said Dr. Domoff, a notion that perpetuates stigma against the overweight and obese by assuming people who fail to lose weight are at fault.

Fat stigma can have consequences on the body as well. This year a study confirmed how weightbased discrimination can increase levels of the hormone cortisol, a marker of stress.

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