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

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.”

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