As a person who has struggled with her weight her entire life, I
know the stigma that goes with being overweight. You get called “whale, blubber butt, fat cow”
the list goes on and on. It is now almost cliché to point out those endemic images
of fashion and celebrities are unattainable expectations, so why then do so
many of us strive to reach a lower weight and feel ashamed when we cannot? We
tend to think there is obviously something wrong with us when we fail or that
we haven’t worked hard enough. We assume
that when someone is not at a “healthy” BMI it is a lack of personal willpower
and poor life choices. Constant images of
the “perfect” body cause them to internalize the negatives stereotypes of their
current body weight/size.
This “fat” stigma doesn’t merely
exist as an undesirable social trait; it also is linked to the idea that these
overweight individuals are also extremely unhealthy. In modern society thin equals healthy and
beautiful. “Fat” equates to unhealthy,
lazy, ugly, etc. If you are overweight
you are encouraged to seek treatments for your illness. Now I am by no means saying that 510lbs
should be considered healthy by any means, but the ridicule and stigma of being
overweight has escalated body shaming and an individual’s ability to have any
sort of positive body image.
What is body image? As you can probably guess body image is how you
see yourself when you look in the mirror. Body image encompasses many
things. What you
believe about your own appearance (including your memories, assumptions, and
generalizations). How you feel about
your body, including your height, shape, and weight. How you sense and control your body as you
move. How you feel in your body, not just about your body.[1] What a person
perceives when they look in the mirror can be completely inaccurate in
comparison to how they actually look to someone else. Take for example a 120lb 5’6” woman, she may
look in the mirror and see only imperfections. “Her legs are too skinny, her
hips stick out” Or she may look in the mirror and see a “fat” woman staring
back at her. The same can be said for an
over weight person, they may even avoid mirrors because of how they think they
look.
“For obese adults, research has documented that individuals
who experience weight stigmatization have higher rates of depression, anxiety,
social isolation, and poorer psychological adjustment. Some obese adults may
react to weight stigma by internalizing and accepting negative attitudes
against them, which may in turn increase their vulnerability to low
self-esteem. Because societal messages often perpetuate beliefs that weight is
under personal control, obese persons may be less likely to challenge stereotypes
because they can attempt to escape stigma by losing weight. Stigma may also
have negative consequences for eating behaviors by interfering with weight loss
attempts and leading some adults to eat more food in response to stigmatizing
encounters. Stigma also has implications for physical health in the context of
avoidance of health care services due to bias in medical settings. It is not
known whether, or to what degree, stigma exacerbates poor self-care behaviors
or contributes to additional complications and co-morbidities of obesity.”[2] I’ve never liked going to the doctor and I
don’t know who does really. However,
when I go to the doctor I get butterflies in my stomach, not because I think he
or she is going to find something wrong, but because I know they are going to
bring up my weight again and how I’m not at “a healthy BMI”. I want to yell at them that I’m trying, I’ve
lost 85lbs and I’m working hard everyday to lose more. They don’t see the progress I’ve made and so
I don’t either. I only see my failure to become perfect and healthy between
doctor visits.
In order for an obese individual to begin the change to a
healthier lifestyle if they aren’t already progressing towards one starts with
changing the stigma. If an overweight
person won’t go to the gym because of how they will be looked at, laughed at
(even if it is self perceived and doesn’t come to light) how can they take
those first few steps? The fundamental
message out there is fat people need to be shamed for their own good. If they aren’t told they are “ugly,
disgusting, [insert whatever derogatory word you would like], how will they
know they should change?
Numerous
studies have documented harmful weight-based stereotypes that overweight and
obese individuals are lazy, weak-willed, unsuccessful, un-intelligent, lack
self-discipline, have poor willpower, and are noncompliant with weight-loss treatment. These
stereotypes give way to stigma, prejudice, and discrimination against obese
persons in multiple domains of living, including the workplace, health care
facilities, educational institutions, the mass media, and even in close
interpersonal relationships. Perhaps
because weight stigma remains a socially acceptable form of bias, negative
attitudes and stereotypes toward obese persons have been frequently reported by
employers, coworkers, teachers, physicians, nurses, medical students,
dietitians, psychologists, peers, friends, family members, and even among
children aged as young as 3 years[3]. Instead of shaming why isn’t there a way to
encourage the obese to become healthier? Don’t tell the obese they are
unhealthy, doctors already do that and clearly it doesn’t work. I recall every time I went to the doctors
office they would mention that I needed to lose weight. I wasn’t given any
suggestions on how to do it, but I was told I needed to lose weight. Just telling someone they need to lose weight
isn’t enough. We need to find a way to
help change our unhealthy habits into healthy ones. A self-conscious obese person isn’t going to
want to go to a gym where he or she feels she will be ridiculed.
I’m going
to use myself as an example. I am by no means at a healthy weight, but I’m
working towards it. I’ve lost 85lbs and
have another 60lbs to lose before I am considered within a healthy BMI range.
What do I see when I look in the mirror? Am I shocked at the progress I have
made, do I see muscles beginning to make an appearance? Nope I see myself as the exact same size as
when I started this journey. I still go
to the plus size section of stores and look for the biggest size. In my mind I don’t see any change in my
appearance. Yes I see that my face has gotten a bit thinner and I only have two
chins instead of three. But when I look in the mirror all I see is everything
society tells me I should be embarrassed of, the rolls of fat around my middle,
my flabby arms, my “thunder thighs”, the list goes on. I think of all the images I see in magazines
and on the television of these perfectly fit models and all I think about is
how I must not be working hard enough to get a body like that. I mean I only jog 12 miles a week, lift weights
three times, go to Les Mills RPM twice a week, and Les Mills Body Pump twice a
week, I count every calorie that goes into my mouth, but obviously that is not
enough. When people look at me they see
a “fat, lazy person, who doesn’t exercise”.
I’ve heard people yell “stop eating cheeseburgers, and try going to a
gym” as I’m walking back from a run.
I’ve had others “moo” at me out of a car window as they have driven
past. Everyday I am shamed because of my
body, not always by others specifically but by society in general.
The
stigmatization of obesity is persistent and damaging. It affects not only the individual struggling
with her/her weight but limits the ability of the public health organizations
to assist individuals with weight problems.
Ignoring the problem, ridiculing those that are obese, will not create a
change. We have to challenge societal
assumptions about weight and its stigma if we are ever going to change the way
people look at obesity and how the individual looks at him/herself.
