Did you know that September 25-29, 2023 was Weight Stigma Awareness Week? No worries if you weren’t aware… Most people don’t even know that weight stigma is a concept, let alone that it has an awareness week. According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), weight stigma is stereotyping, holding biases, or discrimination based on a person’s size. Weight stigma is prevalent in many aspects of our society, including healthcare.
Weight stigma isn’t always blatant; it can look like: negative comments about weight, fat-shaming, concern trolling, and providing different recommendations to clients/patients for the same health concerns/issues based on body size. Weight stigma in healthcare can potentially be harmful. It can cause the following and more: individuals may not seek out needed healthcare services due to fear of being weighed and/or weight loss discussions; chronic dieting, restriction, increased risk of binge eating, and body dissatisfaction; delayed diagnosis of eating disorders and/or misdiagnosis of other conditions. Let’s end weight stigma in our community! Learn more below!
Reminders about Body Image and Weight
We have a genetic predisposition to our body shape and size. Bodies are meant to be unique and diverse.
Each individual has a set-point weight where our body is most comfortable when we are nourishing ourselves and moving our bodies appropriately. This set-point is also based on genetics and is unique and diverse.
BMI is NOT a great indicator of health. It was not developed to be used for individuals and does not take into consideration body composition or cultural variabilities. We shouldn’t rely solely on BMI when making recommendations.
Not all children/adolescents are meant to be at the 50th percentile. Again, there should be diversity in the population. No percentile is wrong. Children should follow their individual growth curves. We should become concerned when there are unexplained abnormalities in a child’s growth pattern.
How we talk about weight and bodies significantly impacts others’ mental and physical health. The language and tone that we use matters.
Individuals who live in larger bodies can be malnourished when they have higher BMIs and can present with other symptoms of malnutrition such as: significant loss of weight in a short amount of time, reduced appetite or muted hunger cues, loss of menstrual cycle for women, low energy levels, unstable vital signs, digestive issues, feeling cold constantly, and/or exacerbation of mental health conditions.
Tips to Reduce Weight Stigma
Focus on behaviors for health versus focusing on weight. Remember that weight is NOT a behavior. Suggest behaviors that are within the client’s control that can impact health or assist in resolving a health concern.
Provide a comfortable environment, both psychologically and physically.
Provide seating and furniture for diverse body sizes.
Use empathetic, compassionate and sensitive language when communicating about weight and health issues. Listen to concerns and barriers.
Offer blind weights. Seeing a weight can often be triggering for clients regardless of their body size.
Do NOT recommend restrictive diets for weight loss. Dieting does not work and often leads to weight cycling which can be harmful to both mental and physical health. Intuitive eating principles help individuals eat based on interoceptive awareness and what the body needs.
Explore a client’s relationship with food and body. If there are concerns about disordered eating or body image issues, refer clients to specialized therapists and dietitians.
Written by Amber Howells, PhD, RDN, LD
About Us
Unbound Recovery is an outpatient clinic that specializes in the treatment of individuals struggling with eating disorders, disordered eating, chronic dieting, body image concerns, and coexisting mental health conditions. Unbound Recovery provides both therapy and nutrition counseling services. All of our therapists and registered dietitian nutritionists are currently working on their certification to become Certified Eating Disorder Specialists (CEDS). We accept most major insurances. Currently, we are accepting new clients at both our Manhattan, KS and Topeka, KS Locations!
