Shame and Weight Stigma

Where does weight, shame and stigma come from? Shame is an emotion that comes from experiencing stigma. Stigma, associated with weight, is when there is any judgement or assumption made about an individual based on how their body looks. This is pervasive across all body types, and no matter what body you have, you may have experienced this. Often people in larger bodies experience a lot of shame around their body due to direct and indirect stigma. And why might we experience weight shame and stigma? Weight stigma is everywhere. It's on the adverts that we see on television, it's in the magazines that we read, it's in the social media that we scroll through. We live in a world that privileges thinness. Think about going out for dinner and the chair being too small to fit in but squeezing your body into it anyway causing pain and bruising just to avoid the shame of not fitting into a world designed for smaller bodies. Beliefs about weight are also present in our social situations when comments are made about bodies. This is often meant with good intentions but can also increase the feelings of shame. We also see this in healthcare. When individuals living in larger bodies come to their healthcare appointments, care can often be focused around weight and not quality of life. Quality of life is very difficult to measure and this is one of the reasons why medical care focuses on physical symptoms such as weight and recommends eating less and moving more. But this is a reductionist view of obesity. Assuming the reason someone may be overweight is due to factors within that individual's control. However, we want to broaden out that view and understanding of obesity. We know that there are actually loads of factors at play when we're thinking about the cause of obesity. genetics, mental health, food education, trauma, finances and loads more. What does this mean? When the same messages are communicated over and over again from all avenues in our lives, it makes sense that we can internalise these views and we start judging ourselves. All of this can really make the feelings of shame and guilt about having a larger body overwhelming. If you notice that any of this fits with your experiences, then consider speaking to your GP or bariatric clinician for support.