Have you ever heard of fatphobia or the way in which this fear manifests via stigmatization and discrimination? Chances are you may have experienced its wrath yourself or known someone who has experienced it, since over 40% of U.S. adults report experiencing weight stigma at some point in their life.

Fatphobia can manifest into everyday stigmas including: only small seats being available, clothing stores not carrying clothing for larger bodies, doctors prescribing weight loss as an overarching remedy for people in larger bodies regardless of why they were seeking out health care, etc. These examples of weight-stigma amplifies diet culture and reinforces the societal belief that smaller bodies are superior to larger bodies. The truth is… the words that we use hold a lot of weight. If we are not aware of stigmatizing words, we may cause harm to others without knowing how truly valuable those words are to the other person.

The Roots of the Fear

Fatphobia is defined as “the implicit and explicit bias of…individuals [living in larger bodies] that is rooted in a sense of blame and presumed moral failing.” Fatphobia is deeply rooted in racism, misogyny, and anti-blackness. Sabrina Strings, the author of Fearing The Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia, states that in the begining of slave trade, it was easy to recognize who was a slave based on their skin color. However, after 200+ years, skin color was no longer a reliable marker, and other characteristics of racial identity were needed in order to decide who was deserving of freedom and who was not. During the mid-18th century, French philosophers recorded observing African people as being very sensual and loving food. Thus, Europeans associated Africans with being fatter, which sparked the desire for slender bodies in order to distinguish themselves as being “the superior race”.

In today’s society, we are still seeing racial and gender disparity when it comes to weight stigma. Many doctors and healthcare professionals use Body Mass Index (BMI) in order to define a person’s health. However, BMI was created by Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet, a Belgian mathematician, in 1830. All of the participants in his experiment were western European men. Thus, BMI was not created for people assigned female at birth nor was it created for people of color. 

BMI was not created for people assigned female at birth nor was it created for people of color

Per ​​The Endocrine Society, the measurement of BMI has been proven to overestimate fatness for Black people. We are using an outdated, inaccurate, misogynistic, and racist tool in order to determine one's health based on weight. It may be easier to see how anti-fatness and fatphobia were initially rooted in racism, but by continuing to use the same language and outdated tools, like BMI, racism is still prevailing today.

Current research illustrates that weight-based discrimination, a manifestation of fatphobia, “has increased by 66% over the past decade with prevalence rates now comparable to race-based prejudice.” Fatphobia and anti-fatness are so normative in our society that we see negative stereotypes being attached to fat individuals in the media, movies, commercials, tv shows, and even in doctor’s offices. People living in larger bodies are often portrayed as or thought of as being gross, ugly, unlikable, or the goofy friend–but never the desirable main character. This weight bias aimed at people in larger bodies can ultimately affect their healthcare, social interactions, basic self care, mental health, and so much more.

Stigmatizing Language - Still Fatphobia

You may be wondering, “how have I contributed to this anti-fatness rhetoric in the form of weight stigma?” Unlearning fatphobia can be hard for many people, as it is so deeply ingrained in our society. It's like learning an entirely new language and throwing part of your language away. Words like “obesity” and “overweight” are very stigmatizing, which can cause emotional and physical harm and decrease quality of life and increase risk of mortality. Using more inclusive language is one way in which we can stop the harmful pathologizing of bodies. 

Let’s discuss these specific stigmatizing words for a second… 

“Overweight” - This word is a rhetorical question within itself. What weight are we referring to when we use this word? What measurement are we using in order to determine what weight someone is over? What defines this set number as being the most optimum weight for this individual?

“Obesity” implies disease and infers that someone’s size entirely determines their overall health. We live in a society where blaming our health problems on weight is normalized. This is why people in larger bodies are prescribed the same behaviors that someone with an eating disorder is getting help for. 

Labeling an entire population as an “obesity epidemic” is a facade and easy way to mask the true issues that strip people of their health and wellbeing. These issues include but not limited to: fear-mongering body size, a lack of access to affordable healthcare, a lack of funding for quality education, a bias towards the wealthy and disdain toward the poor or working class, a lack of resources for mental health, etc. To assume that someone has a disease based on their appearance is a prime example of weight stigma. 

“Obese” and “overweight” are just two examples of words that are used to instill the fear of weight gain. We've seen this ultimately lead to pathological dieting, restriction, eating disorders, disordered eating, and other health problems. 

How Can We Do Better? - Some Reflection

Want to do better? A few examples of words that we can use instead to describe someone’s body size or shape  are “someone living in a larger/smaller body” or describing weight as being “higher” or “lower.” 

By using these descriptors, as opposed to “obese” or “overweight,” we are removing the stigma attached to higher weights and purely describing fact rather than opinions or feelings.

Lastly, the word “fat” has been twisted in today’s society to hold a negative connotation associated with implications such as poor health, laziness, immobility, sadness, lack of enjoyment, pain, etc. However, the word “fat” at its root is a neutral descriptor, much like the words “tall” or “short”. Some folks prefer to describe their body as fat, especially in the fat-activism realm. 

Let that sit with you for a moment, have you felt yourself have a knee-jerk reaction when a loved one refers to themselves as fat? How does your well-meaning response of perhaps assuring someone they are not fat, actually play into fatphobia? How might you respond next time?   

“Weight stigma also undermines health behaviors and preventive care causing disordered eating, decreased physical activity, health care avoidance, and weight gain. Over the long term, it even increases the risk of mortality.” We must challenge weight stigma and the oppressions associated with fatphobia and anti-fatness by taking a weight-inclusive and Health at Every Size approach in order to treat all individuals the same regardless of who they are or what they look like. Health is more complicated that a number on the scale and being fat does not automatically mean one is unhealthy. 

Health is more complicated that a number on the scale and being fat does not automatically mean one is unhealthy. 

A short disclaimer is that while we are using the terms “fatphobia” and “anti-fatness” interchangeably, arguments could be made for only using “anti-fatness” to describe hate toward people in larger bodies. For an interesting read on this topic, please refer to this article: https://www.self.com/story/fat-activist-fatphobia

Want to learn more? Keep a look out for our follow up articles, continuing the conversation on fatphobia, the dangerous impacts of weight-stigma, and how we can show up to fight against these discriminatory beliefs or actions at systemic and individual levels. Have you been a victim of weight stigma? Have you been on the other end and would like to be enlightened? Are you noticing that any of your experiences are negatively impacting your relationship with food, body, or movement? We’re here to support you and help you heal these relationships! Go to our contact page and fill out the inquiry form when you are ready.