Opinion | Why we must stop fat shaming, weight bias, and discrimination against people with obesity
- Obesity is wrongly regarded as a failing rather than a consequence of environment
- This stigma creates barriers to health care, as overweight people are less likely to return for treatment
Research has shown that weight bias can threaten people’s physical and mental health, which makes it vital for the medical community to take special care when discussing obesity. Unfortunately, a recent report in the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet falls short.
The report, which highlights the connections between obesity, malnutrition and climate change, is the result of a three-year effort involving 26 authors from 14 countries. While the authors criticise discrimination against individuals who have a body mass index (BMI) in the obese range, they do so in a way that reflects and perpetuates bias. That is troubling.
The authors point out that, “in most Western cultures, obesity is seen as a personal failing rather than a predictable consequence of normal people interacting with obesogenic environments”. Seeing obesity as a personal failing leads to weight bias, which manifests in numerous ways. Consider the dehumanising, headless “butts and guts” images of larger bodies used in the media and the stereotype that people in larger bodies are stupid, lazy, sloppy, unhappy and incompetent.
This bias not only creates barriers to higher education, jobs and promotions, studies show it leads heavier people to avoid seeking medical care. In one study, signs of cancer were written off as part of patients’ obesity. When people in larger bodies – especially women – experience bias from their health care providers, they are less likely to return to get regular preventive health care. That’s a big problem.
The report then goes on to state that society should not discriminate against people with obesity because it is a “predictable consequence of normal people interacting with obesogenic environments”. In other words: don’t discriminate against people with obesity, because they can’t help it. They’re diseased.
