Being able to take part in public life is key to staying healthy, feeling good, and living a full life. When people can access spaces like schools, healthcare, and social activities, they have the chance to grow, build relationships, and get the support they need. But when body shape and size discrimination blocks people from these opportunities, it can hurt their physical and mental well-being. This exclusion creates lasting effects, making it harder to stay healthy, connect with others, and do everyday things. In this article we will shortly shine light on some of the main issues related to body shape and size discrimination that delay receiving full accessibility to some of the most basic spaces and services.

Barriers for medical care

A field with alarming levels of discrimination is the medical field. People with increased weight receive lower quality of medical services. Due to weight bias among medical staff, they are more likely to get diagnosed incorrectly (including missing diagnosis of eating disorders) or not receive adequate, timely treatment. Outside of the EU, statistics point out that up to two-thirds of patients with increased weight were stigmatized by the medical staff (1).

Regardless of the size and shape of the individual, weight stigma and body shaming pose risks to health and delay preventive medical care in all age groups. Anticipating that the doctor will point to weight as the cause of every complaint reduces the likelihood of an individual seeking medical help (2), decreases the amount of physical activity, and increases shame about engaging in physical activity in public (3). In the long term, it also contributes to the risk of mortality, both due to stress-related health problems resulting from internalized shame and anxiety from societal body shaming (4) as well as the delayed medical care.

Challenges in educational settings

In the context of youth, one shall look into rates of bullying and exclusion specifically within educational settings and among peers. Numerous papers highlight how young students with excess weight suffer substantially more injustice. A multi-national research found that In schools, bullying based on weight is one of the most common types of harassment students experience (5). Even preschoolers often associate negative traits and stereotypes with peers who have larger bodies (6).

Such findings were reported by adolescents, their parents as well as their teachers in numerous research contexts (7). In turn, such teasing and bullying can lead to social isolation and hurt students’ academic performance (8). Research shows that teens with higher body weight are less likely to be chosen as friends and more likely to face exclusion (9). This isolation can damage social bonds and make it harder to succeed in school. Many students report that bullying affects their grades and even causes them to skip school to avoid being teased (10).

Accessibility issues

Besides harmful attitudes, people of different sizes and shapes also experience a widespread lack of access to spaces and daily items. Most commonly, it is experienced as unsuitable equipment (size and durability of seating, medical equipment, restrooms, etc.) and lacking clothing options (limitations in both – sizes and designs to choose from, or overall accessibility). Standardized solutions have failed to accommodate needs of diverse bodies, but encountering such tangible shortcomings on a daily basis not only create barriers to participating in public life, but also further delay one’s feeling of belonging.

REFERENCES

1. (Puhl et al., 2021)
2. Tomiyama, A. J. (2014). Weight stigma is stressful. A review of evidence for the Cyclic Obesity/Weight-Based Stigma model. Appetite, 82, 8-15.
3. 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.
4. Sutin, A. R., Stephan, Y., & Terracciano, A. (2015). Weight discrimination and risk of mortality. Psychological science, 26(11), 1803-1811
5. Puhl RM, Latner JD, O’Brien K, Luedicke J, Forhan M, Danielsdottir S. Crossnational perspectives about weight based bullying in youth: nature, extent and remedies. Pediatr Obes. 2015;11(4):241–250
6. Spiel EC, Paxton SJ, Yager Z. Weight attitudes in 3 to 5 year old children: age differences and cross sectional predictors. Body Image. 2012;9(4):524–527 AND Su W, Di Santo A. Preschool children’s perceptions of overweight peers. J Early Child Res. 2012;10(1):19–31
7. Pont, S. J., Puhl, R., Cook, S. R., & Slusser, W. (2017). Stigma experienced by children and adolescents with obesity. Pediatrics, 140(6).
8. Quick VM, McWilliams R, Byrd Bredbenner C. Fatty, fatty, two by four: weight teasing history and disturbed eating in young adult women. Am J Public Health. 2013;103(3):508–515
9. Goldfield G, Moore C, Henderson K, Buchholz A, Obeid N, Flament M. The relation between weight based teasing and psychological adjustment in adolescents. Paediatr Child Health. 2010;15(5):283–288
10. Puhl RM, Leudick J. Weightbased victimization among adolescents in the school setting: emotional reactions and coping behaviors. J Youth Adolesc. 2012;41(1):27–40

Photo by Lalla Omhani Arezki on Unsplash

This article was created within an Erasmus+ funded project Microlearning for Body Liberation, contract No. 2024-1-LV02-KA210-YOU-000247374. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or The Agency For International Programs For Youth in Latvia (JSPA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.