There’s an unsettlingly large subset of people that believe not only that fat shaming is an effective tool to help motivate someone who is overweight, but that they’re actually doing them a favor in doing so. But there’s now evidence that not only is the practice cruel, but that it can actually cause very real health issues to people who suffer from it.
A new study has found that women who are overweight and have negative self images and believe negative messages about their bodies are at a greater risk for heart disease and diabetes than those who maintain a positive view of themselves.
The research was published in the journal Obesity, and showed that elevated levels of “weight-bias interalization”, which is simply the awareness of negative stereotypes that overweight people have against themselves, were associated with a higher number of cases of health issues that raise the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.
It showed that the effects of the patients BMI wasn’t the only risk factor, but that the internalization of these negative body images were health risks on their own.
“There is a misconception that sometimes a little bit of stigma is necessary to motivate people to lose weight,” says lead author Rebecca Pearl, PhD, assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. “But time and time again, research shows that this is just not the case.”
The study claims that the idea that when people feel bad about themselves that it can cause very real negative effects to manifest, as well as cause deterioration of their mental health.
Overweight people also suffer from sizeism, who’s greatest damage can be done in a doctor’s office. Overweight people are more often excluded from medical research, given standard dosage for drugs which may not be appropriate for their size, which extends to critial treatments like antibiotics and chemotherapy.
Sizeism in the Doctor’s Office
“Disrespectful treatment and medical fat shaming, in an attempt to motivate people to change their behavior, is stressful and can cause patients to delay health care seeking or avoid interacting with providers,” presenter Joan Chrisler, PhD, a professor of psychology at Connecticut College, said during a symposium titled “Weapons of Mass Distraction — Confronting Sizeism.”
It’s important for loved ones, and the general public, to be sensitive to this issue, Pearl says. “Rather than blaming and shaming people and being dismissive of their struggle, we need to work collaboratively to set goals to improve health behaviors.”
“If you know that you’re not actually lazy and unmotivated, don’t let yourself get sucked into to those negative thoughts,” she says. Setting specific, achievable goals for improving health behaviors can also help, she adds. “It can help give people the confidence they need to really make a change.”
Even without the rock solid proof of research, more time should be taken out of people’s day to consider the effect of their words on others, especially someone struggling with a weight problem. Positive enforcement will always be superior; be it in helping someone improve their health, or simply not hurting the feelings of someone who doesn’t deserve it.
