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In a world that's long been deeply influenced by the ideals of diet culture, people with certain body shapes, weights, and sizes experience all manner of shaming, bias, and discrimination. And fatphobia is another expression of these harmful attitudes and behaviors.
Fatphobia can present as humiliating or derogatory words, actions, or suggestions. But learning to recognize it in all of its forms is the first step toward combating fatphobia and teaching fatphobic people how to better treat others.
"Phobia" is often associated with "fear," and that is one way the term can be understood, including in its use in fatphobia. The classic understanding of fatphobia involves the pathological fear of fatness.1
But phobia can also mean an extreme aversion to something, and it's this broader context that has been adopted over the years when it comes to the definition of fatphobia.
The term is sometimes described as anti-fat bias or weight stigma. It refers to an implicit bias of overweight individuals, and this is often rooted in the misguided idea that attaining a thin or fit body type is the ultimate life goal, and presenting as overweight is a sign of moral failing.2
Where is fatphobia exhibited?
The negative bias toward people living in larger bodies can be expressed in a number of ways and in a number of environments, including:3
Healthcare settings
Work settings
Online and social media
School
Many people may also face fatphobia at the gym or restaurants. And sadly, people even report experiencing weight-based comments that are hurtful or negative from friends and family.3
What is the prevalence of fatphobia?
In recent years, battling "obesity" has become an increasingly popular public health initiative. But with it has come the rise of fatphobia and fatphobic attitudes.4
One study found that weight discrimination of all types rose by 66% over the course of a decade, calling it one of the only types of discrimination that is "actively condoned" by society.4
Other studies, conducted in Europe, reported that anywhere from 18.7% to 38% of people considered "obese" experienced weight stigma or fat shaming, while school-aged children considered "obese" were up to 63% more likely to experience bullying.3
What are the effects of fatphobia?
Sadly, fatphobia is more than just emotionally hurtful. Studies show being on the receiving end of this type of bias can have a detrimental effect on mental and physical health.
Issues like heart disease, diabetes, eating disorders, lifelong discomfort in one's body, and even early death have all been tied to the experience of fat shaming and stigma.4 Weight bias can also cause or contribute to:4,5,6
Fatphobic behaviors can be direct or more subtle, from bullying and taunting to misguided suggestions that one should consider losing weight. They can also be the result of individuals or more systemic issues perpetuated by society at large.
One of the best ways to address fatphobia is to understand where it comes from, all the forms it can take, and what these types of weight discrimination can look like.
One major example of fatphobic attitudes is the lack of accessibility for people in larger bodies.
Many forms of public transportation, such as airplanes, buses, and trains don’t have seats large enough to accommodate people with larger body types. This can lead to exclusionary behaviors and feelings of profound shame.
Accessibility is also an issue in healthcare settings, with many doctor’s offices not offering armless chairs, exam and x-ray tables that can support people in higher-weight bodies, or blood pressure cuffs and gowns that fit.
Fatphobia and anti-fat attitudes are much more common in healthcare settings than many people may realize, with one study revealing that physicians viewed overweight patients as “less self-disciplined,” and “more annoying,” while expressing less desire to help them.7
On the other side of that experience, 50% of larger women have reported experiencing fatphobia and weight bias in a healthcare setting, including inappropriate weight-related comments.8
Still, in many cases, these biases are supported by long standing protocol. For example, most doctors still rely on the BMI scale to measure weight and health, despite ongoing debate in the medical world over the usefulness of such a tool to determine overall fitness.9
Common fatphobic phrases we all need to avoid
Many of us may partake in and perpetuate fatphobia without even realizing it. But the good news is, there is always room to learn and grow. As a society, certain fatphobic phrases have been programmed into us, but we can do the work to stop using them.
Some common phrases that have been flagged by the "fat acceptance movement" and other similarly-minded individuals include:
Incessant commenting on body weight, e.g., “I feel so fat”
Complimenting others on their bodies or weight loss
Talking about having a “beach body” or using body image as a measure of self-worth
Anything related to weight loss as self-improvement
Anything that equates thinness with superiority or virtue
“I’m being so bad” when referring to eating certain foods
Commenting on how much someone else is eating
“Do I look fat in this?”
Anything assuming that people of certain body shapes or sizes aren't athletic or can’t partake in physical activity
How fatphobia is a part of harmful diet culture
Diet culture is a group of ideas and beliefs that promote a thin, fit body as the only acceptable body type, and the attainment of such a body as the "ultimate goal" in life. With this mindset, diet culture heavily implies that body weight, shape, and size are directly tied to goodness and badness, with a larger body indicating a fundamental moral failing.
There's a short leap between the idea of "bad" people having larger bodies and fatphobia, and diet culture has likely contributed heavily to the perpetuation of fatphobic ideas. Diet culture-related marketing, such as fat-free, guilt-free, or weight loss ads, shame people living in larger bodies and encourage these individuals to lose weight, even if they are living at a healthy weight for their body.
This black and white type of thinking extends to food as well, painting some foods as "good" and others as "bad." And these concepts can lay dangerous groundwork for the development of disordered eating habits, including binge eating disorder, which has long been linked to frequent dieting.10
Virtual treatment for eating disorders is available.
Fatphobia and fatphobic messaging is powerful, but we also hold the power to change the narrative.
Groups like Health at Every Size (HAES) have long been blazing the trail for a more kind and equal world. The group supports the concept that health is a continuum which changes over time and exists independently of weight alone, and promotes ideas like access to high-quality healthcare for all, without the risk of being judged.11
HAES also has a number of resources and suggestions for confronting and stopping fatphobia in everyday life, including learning how to recognize these issues and correct these thoughts in others and ourselves.
Rather than judging our worth on our weight or appearance, we can celebrate our differences, and think of food and bodily movement as blessings and joyful experiences. And, most importantly of all, we can learn to love ourselves. Confidence and self-love is something no bully can ever take away.
Help is just a call away
If you or a loved one are experiencing fatphobic behavior or struggling with disordered eating behaviors, we at Within would love to help.
We understand that health is a spectrum and should be judged on more than weight alone, but also know that experiencing fatphobia can cause physical and mental health problems that can be addressed with further treatment. Call us today to see how our team of caring experts can help.
If you or a loved one are experiencing fatphobic behavior or struggling with disordered eating behaviors, we at Within would love to help.
We understand that health is a spectrum and should be judged on more than weight alone, but also know that experiencing fatphobia can cause physical and mental health problems that can be addressed with further treatment. Call us today to see how our team of caring experts can help.
Disclaimer about "overeating": Within Health hesitatingly uses the word "overeating" because it is the term currently associated with this condition in society, however, we believe it inherently overlooks the various psychological aspects of this condition which are often interconnected with internalized diet culture, and a restrictive mindset about food. For the remainder of this piece, we will therefore be putting "overeating" in quotations to recognize that the diagnosis itself pathologizes behavior that is potentially hardwired and adaptive to a restrictive mindset.
Disclaimer about weight loss drugs: Within does not endorse the use of any weight loss drug or behavior and seeks to provide education on the insidious nature of diet culture. We understand the complex nature of disordered eating and eating disorders and strongly encourage anyone engaging in these behaviors to reach out for help as soon as possible. No statement should be taken as healthcare advice. All healthcare decisions should be made with your individual healthcare provider.
Fruh, S. M., Nadglowski, J., Hall, H. R., Davis, S. L., Crook, E. D., & Zlomke, K. (2016). Obesity Stigma and Bias. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 12(7), 425–432.
Fatphobia is another term for anti-fatness or weight bias, in which people and systems discriminate against and stigmatize people living in higher-weight bodies.
Is fatphobia real?
Yes, fatphobia is real. Many people have strongly negative feelings about people in larger bodies and actively or subconsciously discriminate against them.
Still, the term fatphobia can be misleading since it is commonly used to describe much more than a fear of fat people. That's why many activists are moving away from this terminology, opting for phrases like anti-fatness instead.
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