Weight Stigma Awareness Week
Did you know that this week is Weight Stigma Awareness Week?
“Weight stigma? What’s that? And why does it need its own week? I am too busy celebrating National Farm Animals Week and I am not sure if I can handle this much awareness!”
Ah, I’m so glad you asked those excellent questions, friends.
Yes, it is indeed the first ever Weight Stigma Awareness Week created by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).
According to NEDA, weight stigma, aka weight bias or weight discrimination, is “discrimination or stereotyping based on a person’s size. Weight stigma also manifests in fat phobia, the dislike or fear of being or becoming fat.” A 2018 study by Tomiyama, et al. defines it as “the social rejection and devaluation that accrues to those who do not comply with prevailing social norms of adequate body weight and shape.”
For those of us that have never heard this term before or never experienced weight bias, here’s a TLDR: it is very much alive and thriving and it sucks.
Weight stigma looks like a person in a large body not having access to competent healthcare where weight loss isn’t prescribed, even if for a strep throat (yes, this is true). It looks like a person telling a doctor that something doesn’t feel right only to be told to go lose weight, when that “something” the patient is talking about is cancer (also true story). It looks like not having accessible seating at healthcare offices, restaurants, or planes. It looks like being passed over for jobs due to your weight. It looks like paying more for your clothing due to a “fat tax” (yes this is real). It looks like feeling shitty when you look in the mirror because society tells us that there is something wrong with being a higher weight and we should avoid looking this way at all costs. It leads to body dissatisfaction, depression, and eating disorders. It led to years of my disordered eating.
If you’re thinking, “Well, it’s unhealthy for people to be in larger bodies and we shouldn’t cater to them” then:
I am glad you’re here so you can learn.
Please shut up now.
All human beings deserve to feel accepted, to be shown compassion and to be cared for, regardless of their size. As I’ve said before and will say it again — BMI is Bullshit, not evidence-based and driven by the insurance and diet industries. Further more, long-term weight loss does not work. In fact, weight stigma has been shown to be a driving force for weight gain and poor health, and according to Tomiyama et al. “should be eradicated.” I couldn’t agree more.
Here are a few things YOU can do to combat weight bias, no matter your body size:
1. Be an ally. Speak up when you see something that exhibits weight discrimination. One personal example is that I advocated getting chairs that fit all bodies in the doctor’s office that I work in.
2. Quit the “fat” jokes. Really, are we in elementary school? Just stop. It’s hurtful and harmful. If you hear someone making a fat-phobic comment let them know that it just ain’t funny.
3. Set boundaries. Tell your family and friends that you don’t accept weight bias talk and find a way to educate them. The Association for Health & Size Diversity is a great place to start.
4. Teach your children. That bodies are beautiful at ALL sizes and that’s why we are so neat! Kids learn that the message our society sends us that fat is bad at an early age. My 7-year old son knows how much we appreciate diversity and people who come in all shapes, sizes, colors, genders, and sexual orientation. Love is love is love.
5. Find other allies and friends who can support you. This can be difficult and lonely work. Trust me, I know. When you feel that you can’t do the work, talk to them, to me or to another HAESTM provider. We will keep on fighting the fight with you.
For more information on Weight Stigma Awareness Week, visit NEDA’s site LINK to learn more. Want to talk more about weight stigma? Schedule a call.
