Fat Shaming Has No Upsides
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iStock/Thinkstock(LONDON) — Just the term “fat shaming” alone should tip people off that it’s not the right thing to do around those who are overweight or obese. Yet, some people will go ahead anyway and make those with weight problems feel bad about themselves under the mistaken impression that it will somehow motivate them to go on a diet.
Jane Wardle, director of the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Centre at University College London, says that five percent of the 3,000 participants she interviewed for her study have experienced fat shaming. In fact, some were even berated by their own physicians.
Tracking their attempts at losing weight, Wardle found that those who dealt with discrimination gained an average of two pounds over a four-year period while others who escaped harassment shed a pound-and-a-half.
Study researcher Sarah Jackson adds that fat shaming can lead to constant eating and a lack of interest in exercising due to embarrassment.
While there was no definitive cause-and-effect linking fat shaming to weight gain, a 2013 study showed that people who are discriminated against because of their girth are two-and-a-half times more likely to become obese.
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