Every year, Weight Stigma Awareness Week (September 22–26) highlights the importance of how we think and talk about bodies as a society.
This week brings attention to the harmful stereotypes and discrimination individuals face based on their size. Such experiences can have serious consequences for a person’s health and well-being.
Weight stigma happens when people make assumptions about someone’s body size or weight. Society often sends us the message that being in a larger body means someone is lazy, unhealthy, or making “bad choices.” Research shows that these stereotypes are false, but they persist everywhere—from the media to classrooms to doctors’ offices (Brown et al., 2022).
These beliefs are so deeply rooted in our society that many people might not even notice when they are contributing to weight stigma. It can manifest in subtle ways, such as someone making a casual remark about what you eat, commenting on someone’s outfit, or public health messages that focus primarily on weight loss. Social media also plays a big role in pushing the idea that being thin equals success. All of these examples highlight how our society values and places excessive emphasis on body size.
Weight stigma affects everyone, but recent research shows that teens are especially vulnerable to its effects. Teens and adolescents with higher body weights often face teasing and bias not just from friends, but also from teachers and even family members (Puhl & Lessard, 2020).
Experiencing weight stigma during these formative years is linked to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and even suicidal thoughts. Additionally, kids who experience weight stigma are more likely to adopt maladaptive coping strategies, such as developing disordered eating habits or turning to substances (Puhl & Lessard, 2020).
Adolescents often say that their peers and siblings are the most common sources of this stigma, but the hurtful experiences usually come from adults. When parents, teachers, or healthcare professionals contribute to weight stigma, it can hit hard. In fact, the distress caused by adult stigma is two to three times higher than in those who do not face it. Additionally, girls have an increased risk of self-harm after experiencing weight stigma. (Magson & Rapee, 2022).
It is essential to tackle and reduce weight stigma among teens. When young people keep facing this kind of negativity from friends, adults, or healthcare providers, it can lead to long-term struggles with mental health, disordered eating, and distrust in healthcare.
Weight stigma also has a major impact on diagnosis and treatment for individuals who have eating disorders. A common misconception is that eating disorders only affect those who are underweight. In reality, the majority of individuals struggling with an eating disorder are not medically underweight (Belinsky, 2023). Unfortunately, this misunderstanding often leads to people in larger bodies being overlooked, receiving delayed diagnoses, and struggling to obtain the support and treatment they deserve.
While seeking treatment, individuals have to navigate a weight-centric healthcare system. Many medical settings focus on how much someone weighs and use language and practices that can make people feel ashamed or unhappy with their bodies. Weight-centric care can deter one from seeking care or negatively impact their recovery. Potentially leading to delayed healing, triggering relapse, and contributing to poorer outcomes overall (Kramer et al., 2025; McEntee, Philip, & Phelan, 2023).
Most professionals who treat eating disorders adopt a weight-neutral or Health at Every Size (HAES) approach. They encourage their clients to shift their focus from body weight to other indicators of health. However, many patients receive mixed messages that can hurt their well-being. For instance, while a therapist and dietitian may advocate for regular eating and maintaining weight stability, family members, friends, or even other healthcare providers might urge them to lose weight. This contradiction can hinder recovery and heighten the risk of relapse (Kramer et al., 2025).
Weight stigma is not just an individual issue—it is a systemic one. It affects how people are treated in healthcare settings, how policies are written, and how research is prioritized. It exacerbates health inequities by discouraging people from seeking care, undermining trust in healthcare professionals, and perpetuating a sense of shame that hinders the pursuit of supportive behaviors (Brown et al., 2022).
The good news? Each of us can play a part in breaking the cycle:
In general, conversations about bodies can be unhelpful. If this topic comes up and you’d prefer not to engage, practice setting boundaries or redirecting to another topic. If you choose to engage in these conversations, be mindful of your language. Our words can have a significant impact on how one thinks about their body, their relationship with food, and their mental health.
If you hear someone making a weight-related joke or assumption, don’t hesitate to speak up.
Encourage practices and policies that treat all individuals with compassion and dignity.
Share resources and stories during Weight Stigma Awareness Week to keep the conversation alive.
Weight stigma awareness involves more than just recognizing an issue; it requires a commitment to change. People of all sizes deserve to live free from judgment, shame, and discrimination. This week, let’s initiate meaningful conversations, challenge harmful assumptions, and choose compassion over criticism.
Sources:
Belinsky, R. E. (2023). Relationships Harm, Relationships Heal: Exploring Larger Bodied People’s Experiences of Weight Stigma and Eating Disorders in the Context of Family Relationships (Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University).
Brown, A., Flint, S. W., & Batterham, R. L. (2022). Pervasiveness, impa,ct and implications of weight stigma. EClinicalMedicine, 47.
Kramer, R., Drury, C. R., Forsberg, S., Bruett, L. D., Reilly, E. E., Gorrell, S., … & Huryk, K. M. (2025). Weight stigma in the development, maintenance, and treatment of eating disorders: A case series informing implications for research and practice. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 53(5), 747-760.
Magson, N. R., & Rapee, R. M. (2022). Sources of weight stigma and adolescent mental health: From whom is it the most harmful?. Stigma and Health, 7(2), 152.
McEntee, M. L., Philip, S. R., & Phelan, S. M. (2023). Dismantling weight stigma in eating disorder treatment: Next steps for the field. Frontiers in psychiatry, 14, 1157594.
Puhl, R.M., Lessard, L.M. Weight Stigma in Youth: Prevalence, Consequences, and Considerations for Clinical Practice. Curr Obes Rep 9, 402–411 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-020-00408-8
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