Does Fat Shaming Work?
What the science says
Fat shaming… we have all seen it, in movies, on T.V. or likely, in real life. Whether you witnessed someone doing it, you did it yourself or maybe you have even been subject to it, it is everywhere but it isn’t as helpful as some people believe it to be.
Most of the time fat shaming actually comes from a place of love and concern because the people doing it feel like they are doing it for the other persons good. They feel like they have a power of persuasion that if they just shame their friend, family member or loved one a little bit, they will lose weight.
They don’t…
Fat shaming can be described as — the perception that stigmatizing or shaming overweight and obese individuals can be used as a tool to instill motivation in them.
But does this work? Does fat shaming someone make them change their entire lifestyle and lose weight?
The short answer is no… let’s take a look at why.
There is a large body of research surrounding fat shaming or, as it is often referred to in the literature, weight stigmatization and weight discrimination.
A study conducted by Natasha A Schvey et al. investigated the impact of weight stigmatization on caloric consumption. Seventy three women both overweight (34…
