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Well + Good: The Real-World Impact of Weight Stigma and What It Looks Like in Everyday Life

January 20, 2024

By Ashley Broadwater
January 20, 2024

General stigma, defined as “a set of negative and unfair beliefs that society or a group of people have about something,” is everywhere. You may have heard it in regards to mental health (e.g., “You can’t be sad since your life is going so well right now”), menstrual health (e.g., “Periods are disgusting and embarrassing”), and physical ability (e.g., “Only elderly folks need hearing aids”). These examples only scratch the surface of how far stigma reaches and what it can look like.

Another one of those many, many examples that we don’t talk about enough is weight stigma. And considering the emotional and physical ramifications, we need to talk about it more.

What is weight stigma?

“Weight stigma, also referred to as sizeism, is negative beliefs, as well as discrimination toward, people specifically because of their body weight,” explains Maya Feller, MS, RD, CDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist of Brooklyn-based Maya Feller Nutrition and author of Eating from Our Roots: 80+ Healthy Home-Cooked Favorites from Cultures Around the World. “This stigma is disproportionately directed at people who live in larger bodies.”

Continue reading on wellandgood.com

 

Maya Feller

Maya Feller, MS, RD, CDN is the founder and lead dietitian at Maya Feller Nutrition. In her practice, her team provides medical nutrition therapy and nutrition coaching for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mood disorders, developmental disabilities, disordered eating, and more. Maya believes in providing inclusive nutrition education from an anti-bias patient-centered, culturally humble approach to help people make informed food choices. Maya shares her approachable, food-based solutions with millions of people through regular speaking engagements, writing, her social platforms, and as a national nutrition expert on Good Morning America, is a Healthline Medical Advisor, and on the advisory board for SHAPE and Parents, as well as appearing on TODAY Show, Tamron Hall, and in The New York Times, mindbodygreen, Well+Good, Food Network, Martha Stewart, Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, Cooking Light, Eating Well, Prevention, Glamour, SELF, and more. She is the author of The Southern Comfort Food Diabetes Cookbook: Over 100 Recipes for a Healthy Life and Eating from Our Roots: 80+ Healthy Home-Cooked Favorites from Cultures Around the World (goop Press, January 24, 2023).

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