Fat-shaming people increases their bad eating habits: study

By Jim Leffman via SWNS

Fat-shaming people actually increases their bad eating habits, a new study reveals.

And although support helps obese adolescents, it was not enough to offset the effects of comments from others.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School looked at 1,568 kids with disordered eating with an average age of 14 who were then followed until they were around 22 between 2010-2018.

More than 40 percent (42%) had received hurtful weight-related comments from family members.

Nearly a quarter, 24 percent, had actively been teased about their weight by a family member with 27 percent having been teased by peers.

Fat-shaming experiences, like weight teasing and hurtful weight-related comments, were associated with a higher prevalence of disordered eating behaviors such as binge eating or overeating.

Dr. Laura Hooper, one of the study's authors, said: "Weight stigmatizing experiences, like weight teasing and hurtful weight-related comments, were associated with higher prevalence of disordered eating behaviors.

"General positive family and parenting factors did not entirely offset the effects of weight-stigmatizing experiences on disordered eating behaviors, which may reflect the strength of weight stigma as a risk factor for them.

“The reason for our findings may be that structural weight stigma, like the normalization of unrealistic body ideals, is a strong socio-environmental stressor for young people.

“In this context, positive family and parenting factors may help alleviate this stressor, but cannot completely protect young people from the negative effects of overt weight-stigmatizing experiences.”

Published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the authors said further research should aim to understand what specific practices are most helpful for parents seeking to support their child experiencing weight stigma.