For 2019, consider a New Year’s resolution to lose weight bias instead of weight

Every year, millions of Americans make the same New Year’s resolution: to lose weight.

This goal may be reinforced by unsolicited comments about weight at holiday gatherings (“Did you put on a few pounds?”) and non-stop advertisements for gym memberships and diet programs that offer deals starting Jan. 1. For some people, attempting to lose weight through lifestyle change or other evidence-based treatments may be beneficial for health. But there’s a pressing problem that requires as much resolution to change as weight: the societal stigma surrounding weight and obesity.

For decades, researchers have documented negative attitudes toward individuals who are perceived to have excess weight — a form of prejudice known as “weight bias.” People with obesity are commonly viewed as lazy, unintelligent, unattractive, and lacking willpower and self-control. Stigmatizing media portrayals of obesity are widespread, and weight is the leading reason for teasing and bullying among youth.

Weight-based discrimination is found in educational, employment and health care settings, yet minimal legal protection exists for those who are targeted. In addition to experiencing weight stigma from others, people with obesity can “self-stigmatize” by internalizing weight-biased beliefs, leading to lower self-worth.

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Some people argue that harsh messages about weight are necessary to motivate those with obesity to take responsibility for their health and lose weight. After all, critics say, it’s their own fault that they are “fat,” and, if they really wanted to, they could control their weight. In this view, promoting body acceptance would only undermine behavior change and encourage obesity.

The problem with this argument is that it flies in the face of hundreds of scientific studies showing the negative health effects associated with experiencing and internalizing weight stigma. The psychological impact of being belittled due to one’s weight may not seem surprising: increased risk for depression, anxiety, substance use, and even suicidal thoughts and attempts in youth.

Stigma causes weight gain and health risks

Less intuitive, however, are the effects of weight stigma on weight gain and obesity-related health. Studies show that weight stigma is stressful, and when people are under stress, they tend to eat more. Changes in cortisol — a major stress hormone — increase appetite and vulnerability to making unhealthy food choices. Further, when people worry about being judged due to their weight, they avoid fitness and health care settings.

These behavioral responses to weight stigma may explain findings from several studies showing that people who report experiencing weight discrimination gain more weight over time and have increased mortality risk, even when accounting for characteristics such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, body mass index, and other related health factors. Some recent evidence also suggests that people with obesity who internalize weight bias, compared to those who do not, have more cardiovascular risk factors. These findings are notably absent from most discussions of the public health costs of obesity, despite the fact that the implicit (and sometimes explicit) blame directed toward people with obesity is compounding those costs.

Examine your own weight-related biases in 2019

So as you reflect on the past year and set goals for 2019, you might consider examining your own weight-related biases. Before commenting on someone else’s weight, pause to think about how it might be received and whether it may be better to not say anything at all. Before laughing at a fat joke, consider its impact on others. Challenge the assumptions you might make about people based on their weight. And if you are someone who struggles with weight and perhaps have internalized weight bias, ask yourself whether it is helping or hurting your mental and physical well-being to beat up on yourself because of your weight.

If you find that your self-directed weight bias does more harm than good, you can try to challenge the accuracy of some of your internalized beliefs — such as whether weight is entirely within an individual’s control when considering factors such as genetics and environment, which play a significant role in determining health habits and weight. Question whether your self-ascribed negative qualities (for instance, laziness) are fair when considering the positive qualities you bring to your role in your family, work, school, friendships or community.

In the coming year, whether or not weight loss is a goal, we can all strive to shed weight bias and be a little kinder to ourselves and others.

Rebecca L. Pearl, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry and surgery at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: For 2019, consider a New Year’s resolution to lose weight bias instead of weight