Content warning: words “overweight” and “obesity” is used in this article.
Flourish NGO, a key advocate against weight stigma, recently contributed to Latvia’s Ministry of Health’s 2025-2029 Action Plan on overweight and obesity. Board members Ieva Miltiņa and Aija Bahmane participated in public discussions, offering critical recommendations—some of which were adopted.
However, the organization raised concerns about major gaps in the plan, particularly its failure to address weight stigma and eating disorders. Without recognizing weight bias as a public health issue, the plan risked undermining both its objectives and individual well-being.
Excerpt from the submitted document:
” Extensive research on weight stigma has not been conducted in the Latvian context, so we will argue using the findings of international studies. However, to demonstrate the presence of the problem in Latvia, we conducted preliminary research (full research results will be available next year). Preliminary data from a small group (n=46) indicated that Latvian residents who are currently or have previously experienced overweight have experienced a number of negative consequences of weight stigma. 95.7% of respondents reported experiencing body shaming, 25.6% of them at least once a week. 67.4% of respondents have experienced hate speech related to their bodies, while 19.6% confidently stated that they have also experienced discrimination based on body weight/shape, and 13% – even physical violence. These are just the obvious consequences of weight stigma, but theory suggests that it is a systemic problem that affects all members of society, regardless of their body size.
Weight stigma and body shaming, regardless of BMI, pose risks to health and preventive care. Experiencing weight stigma increases the risk of obesity by 2.5 times, and for people with overweight, it reduces the likelihood of losing excess weight by 3 times (Sutin & Terraciano, 2013). Experiencing weight stigma increases the risk of eating disorders (Vartanian & Porter, 2016) and other mental health disorders (depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, etc.) (Emmer, 2019). Anticipating that the doctor will identify overweight as the cause of every complaint, individuals are less likely to seek medical help (Tomiyama, 2014), their physical activity levels decrease, and they feel more ashamed of engaging in physical activity in public (Vartanian & Novak, 2011). In the long term, it also contributes to the risk of mortality, both due to health problems caused by internalized negativity and anxiety (Sutin, 2015) and due to delayed medical care.
We would like to emphasize that the goal of the Guidelines approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on May 26 is to improve the health of Latvia’s population by extending the years lived in good health, preventing premature mortality, and reducing health inequalities. Weight stigma directly negatively affects each of these aspects, but particularly unequal access to healthcare. These and other risks, as well as potential solutions to weight stigma, were already reflected in the WHO document “Weight bias and obesity stigma: considerations for the WHO European Region” in 2017, which we encourage you to review for a broader understanding of the topic.”
Read more in their website.
REFERENCES
1. Harwood, A., Carter, D., & Eliott, J. (2022). A public health framework for reducing stigma: the example of weight stigma. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 19(3), 511-520.
2. Hayward, L. E., Neang, S., Ma, S., & Vartanian, L. R. (2020). Discussing weight with patients with overweight: Supportive (not stigmatizing) conversations increase compliance intentions and health motivation. Stigma and Health, 5(1), 53.
3 Hunger, J. M., Smith, J. P., & Tomiyama, A. J. (2020). An evidence‐based rationale for adopting weight‐inclusive health policy. Social Issues and Policy Review, 14(1), 73-107.
4. Obesity Reviews – 2019 – Emmer – The association between weight stigma and mental health A meta‐analysis
5. Puhl, R., Peterson, J. L., & Luedicke, J. (2013). Fighting obesity or obese persons? Public perceptions of obesity-related health messages. International Journal of Obesity, 37(6), 774-782.
6. Puhl, R. M., Himmelstein, M. S., & Watson, R. J. (2019). Weight-based victimization among sexual and gender minority adolescents: Implications for substance use and mental health. Health psychology, 38(8), 727.
7. Puhl, R. M., Lessard, L. M., Himmelstein, M. S., & Foster, G. D. (2021). The roles of experienced and internalized weight stigma in healthcare experiences: Perspectives of adults engaged in weight management across six countries.
8. Sutin, A. R., & Terracciano, A. (2013). Perceived weight discrimination and obesity. PloS one, 8(7), e70048.
9. Sutin, A. R., Stephan, Y., & Terracciano, A. (2015). Weight discrimination and risk of mortality. Psychological science, 26(11), 1803-1811.
10. Talumaa, B., Brown, A., Batterham, R. L., & Kalea, A. Z. (2022). Effective strategies in ending weight stigma in healthcare. Obesity Reviews, 23(10), e13494.
11. Tomiyama, A. J. (2014). Weight stigma is stressful. A review of evidence for the Cyclic Obesity/Weight-Based Stigma model. Appetite, 82, 8-15.
12. Vadiveloo M, Mattei J. Perceived Weight Discrimination and 10-Year Risk of Allostatic Load Among US Adults. Ann Behav Med. 2017;51(1):94-104. doi:10.1007/s12160-016-9831-7
13. Vartanian, L. R., & Novak, S. A. (2011). Internalized societal attitudes moderate the impact of weight stigma on avoidance of exercise. Obesity, 19(4), 757-762.
14. Vartanian, L. R., & Porter, A. M. (2016). Weight stigma and eating behavior: A review of the literature. Appetite, 102, 3-14.
15. World Health Organization. (2017). Weight bias and obesity stigma: considerations for the WHO European Region (No. WHO/EURO: 2017-5369-45134-64401). World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe.\
16. Wu Y-K, Berry DC. Impact of weight stigma on physiological and psychological health outcomes for overweight and obese adults: A systematic review. J Adv Nurs. 2018;74(5):1030-1042. doi:10.1111/ jan.13511
