How to deal with fat shaming: strategies for confidence and resilience

Fat shaming doesn’t help people lose weight. That’s very clear from the research in this area. In fact, it may well do the opposite – stop them losing weight or even mean they put weight on.

Studies show that exposure to weight bias often results in physiological and behavioural changes linked to poor metabolic health and increased weight gain.

Assistant professor Angela Alberga says:

 “You actually experience a form of stress [when you are fat shamed] … Cortisol spikes, self-control drops and the risk of binge eating increases.”

If you are being fat-shamed, could you show this research to the person doing it? They often think they are being helpful. They may be mortified to find they are having the opposite effect.

Assistant professor Alberga goes on to say:

“It’s a really complex relationship that goes beyond energy-in-energy-out … It’s estimated that two in five Americans with a higher than “normal” BMI have internalized weight bias.”

Internalised weight bias means you think of yourself negatively in relation to your weight. You maybe think you are weak-willed, stupid, disgusting or shameful. Maybe you think you are ugly or unattractive.

The US National Eating Disorders Association offers 10 tips for Positive Body Image on their website:

1. Appreciate all that your body can do.
2. Keep a top-ten list of things you like about yourself—things that aren’t related to how much you weigh or what you look like.
3. Remind yourself that “true beauty” is not simply skin-deep.
4. Look at yourself as a whole person. When you see yourself in a mirror or in your mind, choose not to focus on specific body parts.
5. Surround yourself with positive people.
6. Shut down those voices in your head that tell you your body is not “right” or that you are a “bad” person.
7. Wear clothes that are comfortable and that make you feel good about your body.
8. Become a critical viewer of social and media messages.
9. Do something nice for yourself — something that lets your body know you appreciate it.
10. Use the time and energy that you might have spent worrying about food, calories, and your weight to do something to help others.

Some of these suggestions may feel difficult but start with the easiest one and see if you can improve.

In an interesting study by Viren Swami, Professor of Social Psychology, Anglia Ruskin University (UK)  published in the journal Body Image almost 400 adults in the US completed a questionnaire about the amount of time they spent in nature in everyday life and activities. They also completed measures of self-esteem and “body appreciation”.

Body appreciation is about the extent to which people hold favourable opinions about their bodies, accept and respect their bodies, and reject unrealistic beauty standards. He found that both women and men who reported greater exposure to nature also reported more positive body appreciation.

There are a lot of reasons to spend more time in nature. Feeling more positive about your body is just one of them.

And, of course, it’s not just thoughts about yourself. Also pay attention to conversations you have with other people. Do you talk to close friends in a way that fat shames you both? Do you look at other people and judge them by their weight?

Changing these negative thoughts and behaviour doesn’t happen overnight. But not dealing with it will make it more difficult for you to lose weight and keep it off. It will also make it more difficult if you are supporting someone else to become a healthy weight.