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The Impact of Body Shaming and How to Overcome It

Ariane Resnick, CNC is a mental health writer, certified nutritionist, and wellness author who advocates for accessibility and inclusivity.

Ivy Kwong, LMFT, is a psychotherapist specializing in relationships, love and intimacy, trauma and codependency, and AAPI mental health.  

Wavebreakmedia / Getty Images

Body Shaming in Our Culture

Who are the targets of body shaming, why do we need to stop body shaming, how to be more inclusive.

Body shaming is the act of saying something negative about a person's body. It can be about your own body or someone else's. The commentary can be about a person's size, age, hair, clothes, food, hair, or level of perceived attractiveness.

Body shaming can lead to mental health issues including eating disorders , depression, anxiety, low self-esteem , and body dysmorphia, as well as the general feeling of hating one's body .

In our current society, many people think that thin bodies are inherently better and healthier than larger bodies. Historically, however, that hasn't always been the case. If you think of paintings and portraits from before the 1800s era, you can see that plumpness was revered.

Being fat was a sign that a person was wealthy and had access to food, while thinness represented poverty. In her book "Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in American Culture," author Amy Erdman Farrell traces the shift from revering heavy bodies to the preference of smaller shapes to mid-nineteenth century England when the first diets books were published.

She noted that the focus on diets, and bodies at large, was centered around women. Author Sabrina Strings says that fatphobia resulted from colonialism and race in her book "Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia."

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the first known use of the term "body shaming" was by journalist Philip Ellis.

Body shaming is most often about body size, but negative comments about any facet of a person's body count as body shaming.

Below are the various reasons why people might be body shamed.

One of the most common reasons people are body shamed is because of their weight. Someone might be body shamed for being "too big" or "too thin."

Saying anything negative about a person being "fat" is body shaming. This is also known as "fat-shaming." Fat-shaming comments are ones like "They'd be pretty if they lost weight," or "I bet they had to buy an extra plane ticket to fit." Men are often body-shamed when people refer to them as having a "dad bod."

People in thinner bodies can also be shamed for their weight. Often called skinny-shaming, it may sound like, "They look like they never eat" or "They look like they have an eating disorder."

Hair grows on the arms, legs, private areas, and underarms of all people, except for those with certain health conditions. However, many people have the idea that women should remove all of their body hair, or they won't be "ladylike."

Examples of body hair shaming are calling a woman with underarm hair "beastly," or telling a woman she needs to shave.

Attractiveness

Known as "pretty-shaming," the bullying or discrimination of people for being attractive, is something that happens regularly. And even more than that, people are bullied for being considered unattractive, which is also known as "lookism." Lookism describes prejudice or discrimination against people who are considered physically unattractive or whose physical appearance is believed to fall short of societal ideas of beauty.

An example of pretty-shaming is how attractive women are less likely to be hired for jobs in which they'd have positions of authority. And an example of lookism would be how unattractive people may receive fewer opportunities.

Food-shaming is generally done in relation to body size. For example, when someone makes a remark about what a person is or isn't eating, that can count as food-shaming. Someone saying, "They look like they don't need to be eating that," is an example of food-shaming.

You can also food-shame yourself. For example, you might say, "I'm so fat, I shouldn't eat this piece of cheesecake."

The 1980s saw the rise of spandex clothing, and there was a popular saying, "Spandex is a privilege, not a right." This meant that people should only wear spandex clothes if they had the "correct" body shape for them. This is a prime example of clothing-shaming.

More recently, the founder of the clothing brand Lululemon was criticized for making fat-shaming comments when he said that some women's bodies "don't work" for the clothes.

Also known as ageism, age-shaming is discrimination or bullying towards people because of their age. This usually focuses on the elderly or the older population.

In relation to body-shaming, an ageist remark may sound like, "They're too old to wear that much makeup." Additionally, news articles that show photos of how "bad" or "old" celebrities look when not wearing makeup are shaming. Making negative comments about someone's wrinkles or loose skin is another form of body-shaming.

Western society has long focused on sleek, shiny, straight hair as the ideal. Thus, hair with curls, kinks, or other textures has been viewed as less attractive. This is known as texture-shaming.

An example of texture shaming is, "They're so brave to wear their hair natural." While that sounds like a compliment, it's actually an insult. That's because it implies that a person's hair is outside what is considered normal and that they are courageous for wearing their hair in its natural state.

Additionally, bald-shaming happens to people of all genders who have receding hairlines or thinning/balding scalps.

Body shaming has myriad negative consequences on mental health. Here are some important ones:

• Adolescents who are body shamed have a significantly elevated risk of depression .
• It may lead to eating disorders.
• Body shaming worsens outcomes for obese women attempting to overcome binge eating.
• Body shaming can cause dissatisfaction with one's body, which then can cause low self-esteem .

Additional mental health concerns associated with body-shaming include:

• Body dysmorphic disorder
• Higher risk of self-harm or suicide
• Poorer quality of life (due to body dissatisfaction)
• Psychological distress

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the  National Suicide Prevention Lifeline  at  988  for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

For more mental health resources, see our  National Helpline Database .

Body shaming may be rampant, but that doesn't mean you should take part in it. Making a point of not being a body shamer is the kinder option for all people, yourself included. Being intentional about not engaging in various types of shaming may lead to better mental wellness.

In addition to not body shaming, it can be helpful to be more body-inclusive. This means encouraging the acceptance and celebration of shape and diversity in appearance, focusing on health instead of size or weight, and appreciating the human body for all that it is and does.

Below are some ways you can stop contributing to body shaming culture.

Stop Talking About Other People's Bodies

It may be socially acceptable for people to mock and body-shame others, but you do not have to accept, participate in, or tolerate such words or actions. You wouldn't want that to be done to you, and now you know that it can cause real problems for those it happens to.

So, when you are tempted to point out a person's body hair or their hair texture, their size, stop yourself. Instead, why not think of something nice to say to the person?

Clearly, they caught your eye, so you could use this as an opportunity to find a positive attribute. "I like your smile" is one idea of a way to compliment another person without speaking negatively about their body.

Try the following steps:

• Notice your thoughts and acknowledge your own conditioning, bias, and/or judgments.
• Make an intentional effort to notice what you like, appreciate, or admire about this person (this may be physical or non-physical traits).
• Practice this with others and yourself to develop and deepen respect, care, and compassion for yourself and others.

Learn About Body Neutrality

Body neutrality is a practice that has many proven mental health benefits . It's the notion of accepting bodies as they are, without casting judgment on them. This can apply to your own body, and to the bodies of others.

Body neutrality encourages a focus on the positive functions that bodies can perform. Learning about it can make you feel better in your own body, improve your relationship with food, and boost your self-esteem.

Change How You Talk About Your Own Body

In a culture where so much emphasis is placed on what is wrong with us and needs improvement, it can feel like a huge challenge to speak positively about our own bodies. Doing so, however, is a healthy thing to do, and it also saves other people from harm.

By practicing speaking positively about ourselves and our bodies, and noticing qualities about ourselves and others that we like and appreciate, we can deepen our care, compassion, and connection with others and with ourselves.

When you make a comment like "I feel so fat today," you're making a judgment about fat people and implying their bodies are less valuable than the bodies of thin people. This can be hurtful for anyone around you, especially those who are larger.

It isn't realistic to only think positive thoughts about yourself, but you can express your feelings in ways that are less harmful to others. For the above example, you could instead confide in a friend and say, "My pants aren't fitting as they usually do, and it's making me feel self-conscious."

Rather than body-shaming, you'll have opened up to a loved one, creating more closeness and trust between the both of you.

If you've gone through the steps to stop body-shaming yourself and other people, that's wonderful! However, there is still more work to do.

As with all instances in life when you see other people causing harm, it's important to speak up—provided it is emotionally and physically safe for you to do so.

If you see someone making a comment to another person about their body, whether about their clothing or age or size, you can gently let them know that it's unkind to talk about other people's bodies. And if it happens regularly with friends or loved ones, you can bring it up in a bigger way, letting them know that their ways of communicating about bodies don't always feel good for you and others.

Body shaming may be prevalent, but you can do the work to stop perpetuating it and to help heal its harmful effects by practicing body positivity with yourself and others.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Body-Shaming .

Braun S, Peus C, Frey, D. Is beauty beastly? Gender-specific effects of leader attractiveness and leadership style on followers’ trust and loyalty .  Zeitschrift für Psychologie. 2012; 220(2), 98–108. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000101

Tietje L, Cresap S. Is Lookism Unjust?: The Ethics of Aesthetics and Public Policy Implications . The Journal of Libertarian Studies . 2010.

Throughline. Lululemon founder to women: Your thighs are too fat .

Brewis AA, Bruening M. Weight shame, social connection, and depressive symptoms in late adolescence .  Int J Environ Res Public Health . 2018;15(5):891.

Vogel L. Fat shaming is making people sicker and heavier .  CMAJ . 2019;191(23):E649. doi:10.1503/cmaj.109-5758

Palmeira L, Pinto-Gouveia J, Cunha M. The role of weight self-stigma on the quality of life of women with overweight and obesity: A multi-group comparison between binge eaters and non-binge eaters .  Appetite . 2016;105:782-789.

van den Berg PA, Mond J, Eisenberg M, Ackard D, Neumark-Sztainer D. The link between body dissatisfaction and self-esteem in adolescents: Similarities across gender, age, weight status, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status .  J Adolesc Health . 2010;47(3):290-296.

Gilbert P, Miles J. Body Shame: Conceptualisation, Research, and Treatment. New York, NY:Brunner-Routledge.

By Ariane Resnick, CNC Ariane Resnick, CNC is a mental health writer, certified nutritionist, and wellness author who advocates for accessibility and inclusivity.

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Essay: Be careful what you say; body shaming isn’t just for overweight people

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What is body shaming?

Causes of body shaming, effects of body shaming, how to turn body shaming into body positivity, turn body shaming into body positivity tip 1: cultivate self-love, tip 2: replace negative self-talk, tip 3: manage time spent on social media, tip 4: make friends with food, tip 5: reach out to someone you trust, how to help a loved one with body shaming, body shaming: the effects and how to overcome it.

Hearing negative comments about your appearance can impact your body image and leave you feeling anxious and self-conscious. But there are ways to manage fat shaming or other critical comments, and achieve body acceptance.

Body shaming involves humiliating someone by making inappropriate or negative comments about their body size or shape. As well as “fat shaming,” you may also hear negative comments if you’re underweight or in reference to a specific body part.

This type of criticism can be made to others or yourself. You may feel unhappy with your weight or how your body looks and judge yourself harshly. You may even engage in negative self-talk, such as “I feel so fat today” or “I need to stop stuffing my face with food.”

The act of body shaming can be carried out in person or remotely via the internet and social media and can be done by your parents, siblings, friends, or people you’re not even close to.

Even in a joking manner, remarks about what you eat or how much food you consume constitutes body shaming. Giving someone advice about dieting or praising weight loss is also considered body shaming, whether intentional or not. Often, your friends and family members don’t want to hurt your feelings, but their comments can still be of a critical nature. They may not realize the negative effect that questions like “Have you lost weight?” or “Do you really need to eat all of that?” can have.

While nobody is immune to societal pressures to look a certain way, comments about your body are unnecessary in any context. Whether the body shaming is being done by yourself or others, there are ways to overcome the problem, build body positivity, and learn to look at yourself in a more compassionate and realistic way.

Social media and body shaming

Social media often emphasizes physical appearance and makes it easy to post hurtful comments about others. The overall message is often that you should strive for the perfect body and find ways to hide your flaws. This can have a huge influence on your body image.

Body shaming on digital platforms is related to cyberbullying, but there are ways to fight back against those who body shame online, overcome the pain and anguish they cause, and reclaim your sense of self-worth.

See Cyberbullying: Dealing with Online Bullies .

Our “selfie” culture emphasizes outward beauty and we’re constantly bombarded with images of glamourous celebrities in magazines, advertisements, TV shows, and other types of media.

What you see every day on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram can understandably make you feel envious of others or focus your thinking on your physical appearance and any perceived flaws. You may struggle to live up to these standards and experience negative feelings and judgements about yourself. This can become destructive when it diminishes your self-worth and body image.

A fixation with how you look can create unrealistic expectations that are impossible to achieve. Even when you know that these idealized images are digitally altered or enhanced, it’s easy to fall into the trap of unfavorably comparing yourself—or others.

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Body shaming in teens

Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to body shaming, weight shaming, and appearance-based shaming. In the teen years, your attitudes and beliefs about body image and self-esteem are largely influenced by your family members, peers, and social media. Mothers can often be role models for their daughters, for example. If your mother is continually complaining about her own shape or weight, or pointing out problems in how you look or eat, it’s bound to have an impact on how you view yourself.

As you develop during adolescence, it’s normal to be highly sensitive to comments about body shape, weight, and appearance. Weight-related bullying during adolescence contributes to negative body perceptions and preoccupations with specific body parts. Adolescents who are overweight are particularly vulnerable, and this can often lead to depression .

You might think that only teenage girls are the victims of body shaming, but boys can also be affected. They may be particularly concerned about not being muscular enough in relationship to the popular concept of masculinity.

Even supermodels and prima ballerinas have insecurities and imperfections, but we still tend to perceive them to be the ultimate representations of beauty. If you don’t measure up to these standards, you may feel inadequate and unworthy. And if you experience body shaming by others and take their negative comments to heart, it can lead to unhealthy behaviors and mental health problems, such as:

Having a negative body image is one of the main factors for developing disordered eating or an eating disorder , such as anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating.

You may start a diet that involves restrictive eating in an attempt to change your body shape or size. But such dieting can spiral into harmful behaviors like skipping meals, fasting, vomiting after eating, excessive exercising, or overusing laxatives. Over time, you end up depriving your body and brain of essential nutrients that are necessary for optimal health.

Body shaming comments such as “Did you lose weight? You look so much better,” can be triggering and create more disordered eating habits in an attempt to maintain or lose even more weight.

Experiencing body-shaming can interfere with your self-image and make you feel extremely self-conscious. This can escalate into body dysmorphic disorder , where you become obsessed with a perceived appearance flaw that can create repeated avoidance behaviors.

Your daily life can become consumed with concerns about a small flaw, or one that is not apparent to others. You may constantly look at yourself in the mirror or avoid mirrors altogether, conceal body parts you don’t like, pick at your skin, or frequently ask others if you look okay.

If you are constantly ashamed of your body, it can also impair your performance at school and interfere with your relationships with peers, teachers, and family members. Fears about being judged by others may cause you to limit or avoid social activities.

[Read: Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)]

Severe symptoms of BDD can result in you dropping out of school because you’re unable to cope with the constant level of distress. You may even develop depression or suicidal thoughts and behaviors .

Excessive Exercising

Being physically active is normally one of the best things you can do for your health and well-being. However, if it becomes an addiction and you engage in compulsive exercising, it can lead to persistent fatigue, injuries, and susceptibility to illness or trigger anxiety, depression, or irritability.

If you are exercising compulsively, you may also start to withdraw from social situations as exercise becomes your main focus. Excessive exercising can progress into a syndrome called Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) which occurs when your calorie intake is not sufficient for the amount of energy you are expending to maintain healthy functioning.

Anxiety and depression

Body shaming can trigger or worsen existing symptoms of anxiety and depression. If you are body-shamed in public or on social media, you may try to avoid going to school or other situations where this shaming might occur. You may withdraw from others and feel isolated and alone .

Hearing critical comments about your appearance can also be humiliating, heighten your insecurities, and damage your self-esteem. Consequently, you may engage in negative self-talk as you internalize these feelings of worthlessness. You may tell yourself things like “I am a bad person” or “I am completely worthless.” This can escalate into extreme loneliness, depression, anxiety, and poor body image.

Physical Health Issues

Fat shaming, in particular, is rampant in our society as obesity is associated with being lazy, unattractive, and lacking willpower to lose weight. In one study, over 70% of adolescents reported being bullied about their weight in the past few years. This can be harmful to your physical as well as psychological health.

Rather than being a motivating factor for losing weight , fat shaming actually has the opposite effect. The stress has been linked to a reduction in physical activity and the consumption of more calories.

[Read: Childhood Obesity and Weight Problems]

Being the target of weight bias and discrimination can also affect your metabolism, lead to further weight gain, and increase your chances of becoming obese. This in turn can elevate the risk factors for high blood pressure , high cholesterol, heart disease, type-2 diabetes, and other physical health problems.

In recent years, there has been an effort to reverse the body shaming emphasis and promote more love and acceptance of how we look. Social media platforms have utilized body positivity hashtags to gain more followers and help address the appearance-based prejudices that have been ingrained in us.

Of course, it will take time to change longstanding ideals of beauty. We have all internalized these messages in different ways based upon our cultural beliefs and norms. As the saying goes, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” and this also holds true for our views about various body shapes and sizes.

How to build body positivity

Body positivity is a continuous journey towards accepting yourself and others. It takes patience and practice to alter longstanding cultural beliefs and learn self-compassion. You can’t control what others say or do, but you can change your all-or-nothing thinking and start to view yourself as a whole person.

Following these basic steps can help you overcome body shaming and build body positivity:

• Cultivate self-love.
• Replace negative self-talk.
• Manage your time spent on social media.
• Make friends with food.
• Reach out to someone you trust for guidance and support.

The first steps to protecting yourself from body shaming are to stop body-shaming yourself and develop self-compassion. Remember that your health status takes priority over your physical appearance, and that should always be your primary concern.

Don’t hide or isolate yourself from others . We all have days when we don’t look or feel our best, but don’t let this destroy your self-esteem or sense of worth. Take a step back and think about the critical inner dialog you are imposing on yourself. Is this really an accurate representation of who you are? Say “no” to yourself when you’re looking in the mirror and feeling disgust for your face or your body.

Treat yourself with kindness and understanding , as you would a best friend. Taking care of yourself is not a selfish act; it’s necessary for your personal well-being. Exercise, eat healthy food, enjoy the company of people who care about you, and spend some time outdoors to refresh your body and your mind.

Manage stress . Experiencing body shaming can be extremely stressful. Relaxation techniques such as exercise, meditation, and deep breathing exercises are all good ways to build resilience and prevent you from feeling overwhelmed by negative experiences.

[Read: Stress Management]

Embrace the power of your body . Our bodies serve us well on a daily basis to function effectively and keep us healthy. Rather than being upset about your appearance, express gratitude for this “sacred vessel” you inhabit. Take notice of simple things you often take for granted, such as breathing, blood pumping to the heart, and your miraculous senses. The most important thing you can do is strive for a healthy body, which is separate from your feelings about your weight and desire for perfection.

While you can’t control what others say about you, you do have the power to focus on the positive aspects of yourself, rather than dwelling on any perceived flaws. Learning to accept your own imperfections will ultimately free you from placing unfair judgments on yourself or others.

Replacing negative self-talk with positive thoughts and affirmations can be useful for making you feel better about yourself and your body.

Shift your focus to the things that you like about yourself . For example, if you have beautiful hair or eyes, this is just as important as the features you dislike or that others try to ridicule. The next time you look in the mirror, notice these positive attributes.

Instead of repeating negative messages, accept yourself without criticism . You can tell yourself: “I accept my body just as it is,” or “My body is strong and healthy.”

Be proud of your individuality . Your value as a human being is worth much more than your physical body. Remembering the positive qualities that you bring to the world is the foundation for attaining body acceptance.

Start off with body neutrality . If you’re not quite ready to embrace body positivity, work towards having body neutrality. That means you are accepting and respectful of your body, without having to either love or hate it. When you practice body neutrality, you place the emphasis on what your body can do, rather than what your body looks like. For example, you can remind yourself: “My legs enable me to walk and run long distances.”

Don’t body shame others

Research shows that when you promote body positivity to others, you also feel more positively about your own body. Surround yourself with people who are courteous and treat others with respect. Avoid bullies who engage in body shaming and talk about the flaws of others.

Establish boundaries with your circle of friends and make it clear that you will not tolerate comments about your body or weight. You can also set an example by standing up for others who are the targets of body shaming.

Spending too much time on social media can add to your anxiety, loneliness, and body dissatisfaction, reinforce unrealistic expectations of yourself, and expose you to body shaming and cyberbullying.

[Read: Social Media and Mental Health]

If you reduce your time on social media, you will be able to participate in other activities that elevate your mood and tap into your creative potential. Try:

Connecting to others in-person . Cutting down or stepping away from social media can give you an opportunity to connect in-person and improve the quality of your social interactions. Communicating face-to-face is nature’s antidote to stress and can be a lot more rewarding than texting or messaging.

Physical activities like walking, running, swimming, dancing, and other fun sports. Being active is important for your overall health and well-being and can help increase your confidence, self-esteem, and sense of accomplishment.

Practicing mindfulness through yoga, meditation, deep breathing, or journaling.

If you are shamed or ashamed about your weight, it’s easy to develop an unhealthy attitude towards food. Mindful eating can help you remember that food is not the enemy and whatever your weight, you can still find enjoyment in eating.

To make friends with food and eat more mindfully:

• Tune out all distractions while you’re eating, such as phones, TV, and other types of multitasking in order to enrich this pleasant experience.
• By concentrating on the present moment and accepting your thoughts and feelings, you can savor each bite, eat slowly, and respond to your body’s needs.
• Planning nutritious meals ahead of time or trying out new recipes are other great ways to make friends with food.

You may feel embarrassed about confiding in someone about the body shaming you’re experiencing, but there’s no reason you have to handle this on your own. Reach out to others for guidance and support and let them know what you have been experiencing.

It’s crucial to find someone you trust and feel comfortable sharing your feelings with. Having a safe outlet to express your emotions can help you cope with the distress and humiliation of being body shamed.

If you need additional assistance in the recovery process, don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment with a licensed mental health counselor or therapist. They can offer unbiased advice to help you feel more empowered and heal from the effects of body shaming.

If a friend or loved one is being body shamed by others, your compassion and understanding can be invaluable.

Let them know you are concerned and how much you care about them. You can say, “I feel worried that you are always talking about your weight,” or “I feel sad when you speak negatively about your appearance.”

Be patient and listen to their concerns . Don’t assume that you know what your loved one needs, but rather ask how you can best support them. They may just want a shoulder to cry on, someone to listen to their worries without judgment.

Try to shift the focus away from your loved one’s body to something else you admire about them. For example, you can remind them about their wonderful sense of humor, how smart they are, their adventurous spirit, or highlight a particular talent they have.

If your child has been body shamed

It can be extremely hurtful to learn that your child or teenager has been body shamed. But like any bullying or cyberbullying behavior, there are steps you can take to deal with the problem—or even help prevent it before it starts.

Educate your child about body shaming . Let them know that people can sometimes be cruel to each other and how your child should value and respect both themselves and others. Remind them that body shaming in any form is unacceptable.

Talk to your child’s teachers or school administrators if the problem is occurring at school.

Encourage your child to seek new friends if their current ones are engaging in body shaming. Enrolling in sports teams, youth clubs, and after-school activities are great ways for your child to expand their social circle.

Be a good role model . Speak positively about your own body and catch yourself if you say something negative about your own appearance. Try to use body-positive or body-neutral language to set a healthy example.

Reduce the time your child spends on social media . Be aware of what your child is posting and reading about on social media platforms. The more you know about your child’s life online, the sooner you’ll be able to identify and address any body shaming issues.

Reassure your child . Let your child know that you love them unconditionally for both their inner and outer beauty. Refrain from criticizing or teasing a child or teenager about their appearance, even in jest.

Encourage a healthy lifestyle that nurtures your child’s body—but keep the subjects of appearance, weight, and dieting out of the discussion. Focus instead on what your child’s body is capable of. Remind them how well their body serves to help them run, jump, draw, play a musical instrument, or solve puzzles.

Bolster your child’s self-esteem and resilience through exercise and creative endeavors. Having them involved in team sports, volunteer organizations, or group activities can help build self-confidence and improve social skills. Physical activity can also help to relieve anxiety and stress and boost your child’s mood.

Helplines and support

Bullying helplines.

1-800-273-8255 –  Crisis Call Center

0845 22 55 787 –  National Bullying Helpline

1-877-352-4497 –  BullyingCanada

1800 551 800 –  Kids Helpline

1098 –  Childline India

Eating disorder helplines

National Eating Disorders Association  or call 1-800-931-2237 (National Eating Disorders Association)

Beat Eating Disorders  or call 0345 643 1414 (Helpfinder)

Butterfly Foundation for Eating Disorders  or call 1800 33 4673 (National Eating Disorders Collaboration)

Service Provider Directory  or call 1-866-633-4220 (NEDIC)

More Information

• What’s the Difference Between Body Positivity and Body Neutrality? - Embracing both can be healthy. (Cleveland Clinic)
• 8 steps to mindful eating - Change the way you think about food. (Harvard Health Publishingc)
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Psychologily

Body Shaming: The Psychological Effects and How to Overcome It

Body shaming is a pervasive issue involving negative comments or judgments about someone’s physical appearance. This can include anything from criticizing someone’s weight to mocking their clothing choices. Unfortunately, body shaming can seriously affect individuals’ mental health and self-esteem.

It’s essential to recognize that body shaming can happen to anyone, regardless of size or shape. People who are overweight or underweight may be targeted, as well as those with physical features that don’t conform to societal beauty standards. Body shaming can take many forms, from subtle comments to outright bullying, and it can be incredibly hurtful and damaging.

At the same time, it’s essential to acknowledge that body shaming is often a result of more significant societal issues, such as unrealistic beauty standards and a culture that values appearance over other qualities. By understanding the root causes of body shaming and working to promote body positivity and acceptance, we can help create a more inclusive and supportive community for everyone.

Understanding Body Shaming

Body shaming is a pervasive issue that affects people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. It is a form of discrimination involving negative comments about someone’s body, size, shape, or appearance. In this section, we will explore the definition of body shaming, its history and evolution, and its impact on individuals and society.

Body shaming is making negative comments about someone’s body or appearance. It can be directed towards oneself or others and can take various forms, including verbal, written, or visual. Body shaming can be based on different aspects of one’s appearance, such as weight, height, skin color, hair texture, or body shape. It can also be related to specific body parts like the nose, ears, or stomach.

Body shaming can significantly impact an individual’s mental and physical health. It can lead to low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. It can also contribute to social isolation, bullying, and discrimination.

History and Evolution

Body shaming is not a new phenomenon. It has been present in different cultures and societies throughout history. However, the way it is expressed and perceived has changed over time.

In the past, body shaming was often directed towards women based on traditional beauty standards, such as being thin, white, and young. However, body shaming has become more inclusive in recent years, affecting people of all genders, ages, and body types. It has also expanded to include different aspects of appearance, such as skin color, hair texture, and disabilities.

The rise of social media has also contributed to the evolution of body shaming. It has provided a platform for people to express their opinions and judgments about others’ bodies, often anonymously. It has also created a culture of comparison and perfectionism, where people feel pressured to conform to unrealistic beauty standards.

Understanding body shaming is crucial in addressing this issue and promoting body positivity and acceptance. We can create a more inclusive and supportive society by recognizing the harmful effects of body shaming and challenging negative attitudes toward different body types and appearances.

The Impact of Body Shaming

Body shaming is a common issue that affects people of all ages, genders, and body types. The negative comments and criticism about one’s appearance can significantly impact their mental and physical health, as well as their social life. This section will discuss the psychological effects, physical health consequences, and societal implications of body shaming.

Psychological Effects

Body shaming can lead to various psychological issues, including low self-esteem , depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. When people are constantly criticized for their appearance, they may internalize those negative comments and develop a negative self-image. This negative self-image can lead to a lack of confidence and self-worth, making it difficult for individuals to form meaningful relationships and pursue their goals.

Physical Health Consequences

Body shaming can also have physical health consequences. People who experience body shaming may be more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as crash dieting, over-exercising, or using weight loss supplements. These behaviors can lead to various health issues, including malnutrition, dehydration, and muscle damage. Additionally, the stress of body shaming can weaken the immune system, making it more difficult for individuals to fight off infections and illnesses.

Societal Implications

Body shaming is not just a personal issue but has societal implications. Being constantly judged and criticized for their appearance can create a culture of body shaming that reinforces harmful stereotypes and promotes unrealistic beauty standards. This can lead to discrimination, marginalization, and a lack of diversity in the media and entertainment industries. It is essential to recognize the harm body shaming can cause and work towards creating a more inclusive and accepting society.

Body shaming can have a significant impact on individuals’ mental and physical health, as well as on society as a whole. It is important to recognize the harmful effects of body shaming and work towards creating a more accepting and inclusive culture. By promoting body positivity and embracing diversity, we can create a world where everyone feels comfortable and confident in their skin.

Body Shaming in Media

Body shaming is a phenomenon that has been around for a long time, but with the rise of social media and advertising, it has become more prevalent than ever. In this section, we will explore the role of social media and advertising in promoting body shaming.

Role of Social Media

Social media has become an integral part of our lives, and it has also become a platform for body shaming. With the rise of influencers and celebrities on Instagram and other social media platforms, people are exposed to unrealistic beauty standards that are impossible without filters and editing tools. This has led to people feeling insecure about their bodies and has contributed to the rise of body shaming.

Moreover, social media has made it easier to bully others anonymously. Cyberbullying, including body shaming, has become a significant problem on social media platforms. People hide behind fake accounts and use hurtful language to bring others down. This can severely impact the victim’s mental health and lead to anxiety, depression, and even suicide.

Influence of Advertising

Advertising has always been a powerful tool to influence people’s perceptions of beauty. Advertisements often feature models with a specific body type, which can make people feel like they need to look a certain way to be considered beautiful. Moreover, using Photoshop and other editing tools in advertisements has created an unrealistic beauty standard that is impossible to achieve.

Furthermore, advertisements often promote weight loss products and diet plans that can harm people’s health. These products and plans often promote rapid weight loss, which can lead to people developing eating disorders and other health problems.

Social media and advertising have played a significant role in promoting body shaming. It is essential for us to be aware of the impact that social media and advertising can have on our perceptions of beauty and to encourage body positivity. We should celebrate all body types and work towards creating a world where everyone feels comfortable in their skin.

Body Positivity Movement

The Body Positivity Movement is a social movement that advocates for the acceptance of all bodies, regardless of size, shape, skin tone, gender, or physical abilities. It challenges unrealistic beauty standards and ideals and promotes self-love and self-acceptance. This section will discuss the movement’s origins, key figures who have contributed to its growth, and its achievements to date.

The Body Positivity Movement has its roots in the fat acceptance movement of the late 1960s. The fat acceptance movement focused on ending the fat-shaming culture and discrimination against people based on their size or body weight. Recently, the movement has expanded to include all body types and sizes.

Key Figures

The Body Positivity Movement has been championed by many influential figures, including:

• Ashley Graham: A plus-size model featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and Vogue.
• Lizzo: A singer and rapper who promotes body positivity and self-love through her music and social media presence.
• Jameela Jamil: An actress and activist who founded the “I Weigh” movement, encouraging people to focus on their accomplishments and personality traits rather than their physical appearance.

Achievements to Date

The Body Positivity Movement has achieved several notable accomplishments, including:

• The expansion of clothing sizes to include a wider range of body types and sizes.
• The banning of overly retouched photos in advertising campaigns.
• The increased representation of diverse bodies in media and entertainment.

However, much work must be done to realize the Body Positivity Movement’s goals fully. Body shaming and discrimination remain pervasive, and the movement remains essential for change.

Combatting Body Shaming

Body shaming is a pervasive issue that affects many people. It can lead to negative self-image, low self-esteem, and even depression. Fortunately, there are ways to combat body shaming and promote body positivity. This section will explore personal strategies, community efforts, and policy and legislation that can help combat body shaming.

Personal Strategies

One of the most effective ways to combat body shaming is to develop personal strategies that promote body positivity. Here are some strategies that you can try:

• Cultivate self-love: Focus on your positive qualities and celebrate your body for what it can do.
• Replace negative self-talk: Challenge negative thoughts about your body with positive affirmations.
• Manage time spent on social media: Limit exposure to images and messages that promote unrealistic beauty standards.
• Make friends with food: Develop a healthy relationship with food and focus on nourishing your body.
• Contact someone you trust: Talk to a friend or family member about your feelings and seek support.

Community Efforts

Community efforts can also play a crucial role in combatting body shaming. Here are some ways that communities can promote body positivity:

• Create safe spaces: Establish environments where people feel comfortable and accepted regardless of their body shape or size.
• Educate others: Raise awareness about the harmful effects of body shaming and promote body positivity.
• Support diversity: Celebrate diversity and promote inclusivity in all aspects of life.
• Challenge stereotypes: Speak out against stereotypes and harmful messages perpetuating body shaming.
• Encourage self-care: Emphasize the importance of self-care and encourage healthy habits.

Policy and Legislation

Finally, policy and legislation can also help combat body shaming. Here are some ways that policy and legislation can promote body positivity:

• Ban discriminatory practices: Prohibit discriminatory practices based on body size or shape in employment, housing, and other areas.
• Promote body diversity: Encourage using diverse body shapes and sizes in media and advertising.
• Provide resources: Offer support for individuals who have experienced body shaming.
• Fund research: Support research on the causes and effects of body shaming and promote evidence-based interventions.
• Foster collaboration: Encourage collaboration among stakeholders, including government, industry, and non-profit organizations, to promote body positivity.

By implementing these personal strategies, community efforts, and policy and legislation, we can combat body shaming and promote a culture of body positivity.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the negative effects of body shaming.

Body shaming can have serious negative effects on a person’s mental health, self-esteem, and body image. It can lead to anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and other mental health issues. It can also cause a person to feel ashamed and embarrassed about their body, which can lead to social isolation and a lack of confidence.

How can we support someone who has experienced body shaming?

If someone you know has experienced body shaming, it’s important to be supportive and understanding. Listen to them and validate their feelings. Encourage them to seek help from a mental health professional if they need it. You can also help them by promoting body positivity and challenging negative stereotypes and attitudes about body image.

What are some ways to promote body positivity?

There are many ways to promote body positivity, including:

• Celebrating diversity and different body types
• Challenging negative stereotypes and attitudes about body image
• Encouraging self-love and self-acceptance
• Promoting healthy behaviors and lifestyles rather than focusing on weight or appearance
• Supporting and uplifting others who may be struggling with body image issues

What are some common misconceptions about body shaming?

Some common misconceptions about body shaming include:

• It only affects women
• It’s only about weight or size
• It’s harmless or just a joke
• It’s only done by strangers or bullies

In reality, body shaming can affect anyone, regardless of gender or body type. It can take many forms, including comments about skin color, hair, clothing, and other physical features.

How does body shaming affect mental health?

Body shaming can have a significant impact on a person’s mental health. It can lead to feelings of shame, anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. It can also contribute to the development of eating disorders and other mental health issues.

What can we do to prevent body shaming?

Preventing body shaming starts with challenging negative attitudes and stereotypes about body image. We can promote body positivity by celebrating diversity and different body types, encouraging healthy behaviors and lifestyles, and supporting others who may be struggling with body image issues. We can also speak out against body shaming when we see it happening, and work to create a culture of acceptance and respect for all body types.

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What Is Body Shaming and How to Stop It

Rachel MacPherson is a health writer, certified personal trainer, certified strength and conditioning specialist, and exercise nutrition coach based in Halifax.

Rachel Goldman, Ph.D., FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, and wellness expert specializing in weight management and eating behaviors.

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What Is Body Shaming?

How body shaming affects you.

• How to More Body-Inclusive

Frequently Asked Questions

Body shaming is not a new concept—whether it's a magazine cover analyzing a celebrity's weight change or a relative making an unsolicited comment around the dinner table, the act of using bodies as a talking point is something many of us have experienced. Thankfully, in recent years, more attention has been brought to the damaging effects of negative thoughts and words surrounding individuals' bodies.

Body shaming can significantly impact your self-esteem, mood, and relationships. Shifting the focus and becoming more positive in how you relate to your body and others' appearances can have a major impact on your own quality of life.

Body shaming involves criticizing your body or others' bodies, out loud or in your thoughts. Often, body shaming is not meant to be directly hurtful, but it is. Stating unwanted and unasked-for negative opinions and comments about a person's body, even if you don't necessarily intend to hurt the person, is still body shaming.

Types of Body Shaming

• Fat shaming : "You shouldn't wear that outfit until you lose weight."
• Skinny shaming : "She really needs to eat a cheeseburger."
• Attractiveness shaming : "What is a girl like her doing with a guy who looks like that?"
• Body hair shaming : "Gross, underarm hair on women is such a turn-off."
• Food shaming : "Are you sure you want dessert? You could stand to go without."
• Gender shaming : "He's a man, he needs to bulk up more."

Body shaming can affect individuals in a variety of ways. Research shows that body shaming can result in mental health concerns such as depression, body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, anxiety, increased risk of suicidal thoughts, and unhealthy behaviors like eating disorders, overexercising, and exercise avoidance .

Furthermore, when people use body shaming of themselves or others to try and encourage weight loss, it more often backfires, leading to weight gain, unnecessary weight loss, and unhealthy habits. Experts and studies say that experiencing weight bias leads to physiological and behavioral changes linked to poor metabolic health and weight gain. Stress from these negative experiences may have the ability to initiate stress hormones like cortisol and reduce self-control, increasing the risk of binge eating .

With so much focus on physical appearance , other aspects of your life may also suffer. You may hold back from social events, exercise, dating, sex , and other elements of a well-rounded life. Even more importantly, the time spent obsessing over your body means less time for other pursuits, including education, self-improvement, charity work, and fulfilling hobbies.

How to Stop Body Shaming and Be More Body-Inclusive

Body shaming can quickly become a habit , especially when those around you engage in the behavior as well. Like any bad habit, stopping may be challenging but worth it. One significant first step is removing social media that makes you feel physically unworthy.

Research has tied body shaming and poor body image with social media more than any other contributing factor. The more time spent on social media, the worse body shaming and dissatisfaction are likely to be.

Another factor can be disapproving comments from relatives, including parents. Research shows that being raised with disparaging remarks about your physical appearance impacts how you think about your body and has the potential to lead to body shaming and disordered eating patterns. Speaking out and setting clear boundaries around what you will and will not tolerate from others close to you can help end this cycle.

Ultimately, if you are tempted to make a comment about someone else's body, don't. Even praising someone for weight loss or telling someone they look much better wearing a specific type of clothing or makeup can backfire.

These comments insinuate that the person's value has increased due to physical changes, even if you don't know their root cause. For instance, illness can lead to weight loss that wasn't desired or attempted. And suggesting someone looks better a particular way means they look less ideal another way. Remove focus on the physical and place it on accomplishments with more meaning and permanence.

A Word From Verywell

Body shaming is not always so obvious. Small, seemingly harmless comments can make a big impact on a person's self-esteem. It's best to avoid commenting on people's physical appearance in general, and especially in relation to things like weight , attractiveness, gender conformity, and what a person chooses to wear or not.

If you struggle with body image, body shaming, or related issues and feel like you cannot change things, reach out to a therapist who can help you. Discuss how you feel with trusted friends and family members, and remember to set clear boundaries with yourself and others.

If you hear someone body shaming, it may be best to remind them of the harmful effects, such as perpetuating unrealistic expectations and focusing on trivial physical appearance instead of more important aspects of a person. You can try saying something like "I really don't agree with body shaming. Let's not get caught up in appearances, there's more to life than how you look."

Society is highly focused on physical appearance and attributing too much value to how someone looks. If you feel bad about your looks, you are more likely to make purchases that will "fix" it, including weight loss, beauty, and anti-aging products. This is why marketing efforts focus so much on "flaws" that are actually perfectly normal, including weight, cellulite, acne, wrinkles, hair loss, and more. These messages become pervasive and can influence how you think and feel about yourself and others.

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By Rachel MacPherson, BA, CPT Rachel MacPherson is a health writer, certified personal trainer, and exercise nutrition coach based in Halifax.

Lily Moe is a former fitness coach and current Editor for Verywell Fit. A wellness enthusiast, she can often be found in a hot yoga studio, trying a new recipe, or going for a long run in Central Park.

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Body Shaming: an Exploratory Study on its Definition and Classification

• Original Article
• Published: 09 November 2021
• Volume 5 , pages 26–37, ( 2023 )

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• Constanze Schlüter 1 ,
• Gerda Kraag 1 &
• Jennifer Schmidt 2  

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Body shaming (BS) is a popular term for a type of negative social interaction, which frequently occurs in social media. However, there is a lack of a clear scientific definition of BS and data on its relation to other concepts in social aggression research. The present study therefore aimed at providing a definition and classification of BS. In an exploratory online-study, 25 participants (60%) provided personal definitions of BS and rated the fit of a suggested definition. In addition, they reported similarities with and differences to related concepts (appearance teasing, cyberbullying, trolling). We conducted qualitative analyses of the verbal definitions guided by the Grounded Theory approach and quantified the fit to existing concepts in the field of social aggression. The results show that BS is perceived as an unrepeated act in which a person expresses unsolicited, mostly negative opinions/comments about a target’s body, without necessarily intending to harm him/her. Still, the target perceives the comments as negative. BS can range from well-meant advice to malevolent insults and it can occur online and offline. Participants saw similarities between BS and appearance teasing. BS can be a tool for trolling and can evolve to cyberbullying with repetition over time. Altogether, BS is a form of social aggression that has a negative impact on individuals. The definition and classification help to investigate BS and its effects on body image and mental health in future research.

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Appendix 1. Open-ended questions to gain insights in people’s understanding of body shaming

• Q2-Q4 (bold print) were presented in randomized order to avoid effects caused by sequence and/or order. To prevent later editing of statements, participants could not return to previous questions

Appendix 2. Overview on exemplary statements regarding similarities and differences of the targeted concepts (body shaming, appearance teasing, cyberbullying, trolling)

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Schlüter, C., Kraag, G. & Schmidt, J. Body Shaming: an Exploratory Study on its Definition and Classification. Int Journal of Bullying Prevention 5 , 26–37 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-021-00109-3

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Issue Date : March 2023

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Essay on Body Shaming

Students are often asked to write an essay on Body Shaming in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Body Shaming

Understanding body shaming.

Body shaming is the act of mocking or criticizing someone’s physical appearance. It is often linked to weight, size, or shape but can also include skin color, height, or any other physical attribute.

Consequences of Body Shaming

Body shaming can lead to self-esteem issues, anxiety, and depression. People who are body shamed may feel isolated or unworthy, which can have a devastating impact on their mental health.

Rejecting Body Shaming

Rejecting body shaming involves promoting acceptance of all body types. It’s important to remember that everyone is unique and beautiful in their own way.

Also check:

• Speech on Body Shaming

250 Words Essay on Body Shaming

The pervasive issue of body shaming.

Body shaming, a prevalent social issue, is the act of mocking or criticizing individuals based on their physical appearance. It is a destructive practice that permeates our society, largely propagated by unrealistic body ideals portrayed in the media.

Implications of Body Shaming

Body shaming can have severe psychological implications. It can lead to diminished self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and even trigger eating disorders. Furthermore, body shaming does not only affect the individual’s mental health but also their physical well-being, as it can result in unhealthy lifestyle choices.

The Role of Media

Media plays a significant role in perpetuating body shaming. It projects an unattainable image of perfection, leading individuals to feel inadequate and pressured to conform. This constant comparison with idealized images can fuel self-loathing and body dissatisfaction.

Combatting Body Shaming

Combatting body shaming requires a collective effort. We need to challenge societal norms and promote body positivity, encouraging acceptance of all body types. Education can play a pivotal role in this, teaching individuals from a young age about the diversity of human bodies and the importance of respecting others’ physical appearances.

In conclusion, body shaming is a harmful practice that needs to be addressed. It’s crucial to promote a culture of acceptance and respect, where individuals feel comfortable in their own skin. By fostering body positivity and challenging societal norms, we can strive towards a society free from the detrimental effects of body shaming.

500 Words Essay on Body Shaming

Introduction.

Body shaming, a pervasive form of discrimination, has become a global phenomenon that affects individuals of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. It involves criticizing oneself or others based on real or perceived physical attributes. This essay explores the concept of body shaming, its impact, and potential solutions.

The Concept of Body Shaming

Body shaming is an act of humiliation where individuals are made to feel ashamed or uncomfortable about their bodies. It can manifest in various forms, from subtle comments about one’s weight or appearance to overtly discriminatory actions. The advent of social media has amplified the issue, providing a platform for anonymous users to make derogatory comments with little to no consequences.

Psychological Impact of Body Shaming

The psychological impact of body shaming can be severe, leading to low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and in extreme cases, self-harm or suicide. A study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that adolescents who experienced body shaming were more likely to develop eating disorders and lower self-esteem. This psychological trauma often extends into adulthood, affecting an individual’s personal and professional life.

Societal Consequences

Body shaming not only affects individuals but also has wider societal implications. It reinforces harmful stereotypes and norms about beauty and body image, leading to a culture of discrimination and exclusion. It affects societal cohesion, as it fosters an environment of negativity and judgement, rather than acceptance and inclusivity.

The media plays a significant role in perpetuating body shaming. Advertisements, movies, and TV shows often portray unrealistic beauty standards, contributing to body dissatisfaction. Social media platforms, while providing a space for self-expression, can also be a breeding ground for body shaming, with users often comparing themselves to carefully curated, and often edited, images of others.

Combatting body shaming requires a multi-pronged approach. Education is vital in promoting body positivity and acceptance. Schools, families, and communities need to foster environments where diversity in body shapes and sizes is celebrated. Media literacy education can also help individuals critically analyze media content and resist internalizing harmful beauty standards.

Moreover, policies need to be implemented to discourage body shaming. Social media platforms should have stricter regulations to prevent body shaming and promote respectful interactions. Legal measures could also be considered to penalize those who engage in overt body shaming.

Body shaming is a pressing issue that requires urgent attention. It is a form of discrimination that has far-reaching psychological and societal implications. By fostering a culture of body positivity, implementing effective policies, and promoting media literacy, we can combat body shaming and create a more inclusive and accepting society. The fight against body shaming is not just about promoting body positivity, but also about advocating for respect, equality, and dignity for all, regardless of physical appearance.

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Body Shaming — A Cultural Exploration of Body Shaming

A Cultural Exploration of Body Shaming

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Guest Essay

A Year on Ozempic Taught Me We’re Thinking About Obesity All Wrong

By Johann Hari

Mr. Hari is a British journalist and the author of “Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits — and Disturbing Risks — of the New Weight Loss Drugs.”

Ever since I was a teenager, I have dreamed of shedding a lot of weight. So when I shrank from 203 pounds to 161 in a year, I was baffled by my feelings. I was taking Ozempic, and I was haunted by the sense that I was cheating and doing something immoral.

I’m not the only one. In the United States (where I now split my time), over 70 percent of people are overweight or obese, and according to one poll, 47 percent of respondents said they were willing to pay to take the new weight-loss drugs. It’s not hard to see why. They cause users to lose an average of 10 to 20 percent of their body weight, and clinical trials suggest that the next generation of drugs (probably available soon) leads to a 24 percent loss, on average. Yet as more and more people take drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, we get more confused as a culture, bombarding anyone in the public eye who takes them with brutal shaming.

This is happening because we are trapped in a set of old stories about what obesity is and the morally acceptable ways to overcome it. But the fact that so many of us are turning to the new weight-loss drugs can be an opportunity to find a way out of that trap of shame and stigma — and to a more truthful story.

In my lifetime, obesity has exploded, from being rare to almost being the norm. I was born in 1979, and by the time I was 21, obesity rates in the United States had more than doubled . They have skyrocketed since. The obvious question is, why? And how do these new weight-loss drugs work? The answer to both lies in one word: satiety. It’s a concept that we don’t use much in everyday life but that we’ve all experienced at some point. It describes the sensation of having had enough and not wanting any more.

The primary reason we have gained weight at a pace unprecedented in human history is that our diets have radically changed in ways that have deeply undermined our ability to feel sated. My father grew up in a village in the Swiss mountains, where he ate fresh, whole foods that had been cooked from scratch and prepared on the day they were eaten. But in the 30 years between his childhood and mine, in the suburbs of London, the nature of food transformed across the Western world. He was horrified to see that almost everything I ate was reheated and heavily processed. The evidence is clear that the kind of food my father grew up eating quickly makes you feel full. But the kind of food I grew up eating, much of which is made in factories, often with artificial chemicals, left me feeling empty and as if I had a hole in my stomach. In a recent study of what American children eat, ultraprocessed food was found to make up 67 percent of their daily diet. This kind of food makes you want to eat more and more. Satiety comes late, if at all.

One scientific experiment — which I have nicknamed Cheesecake Park — seemed to me to crystallize this effect. Paul Kenny, a neuroscientist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, grew up in Ireland. After he moved in 2000 to the United States, when he was in his 20s, he gained 30 pounds in two years. He began to wonder if the American diet has some kind of strange effect on our brains and our cravings, so he designed an experiment to test it. He and his colleague Paul Johnson raised a group of rats in a cage and gave them an abundant supply of healthy, balanced rat chow made out of the kind of food rats had been eating for a very long time. The rats would eat it when they were hungry, and then they seemed to feel sated and stopped. They did not become fat.

But then Dr. Kenny and his colleague exposed the rats to an American diet: fried bacon, Snickers bars, cheesecake and other treats. They went crazy for it. The rats would hurl themselves into the cheesecake, gorge themselves and emerge with their faces and whiskers totally slicked with it. They quickly lost almost all interest in the healthy food, and the restraint they used to show around healthy food disappeared. Within six weeks, their obesity rates soared.

After this change, Dr. Kenny and his colleague tweaked the experiment again (in a way that seems cruel to me, a former KFC addict). They took all the processed food away and gave the rats their old healthy diet. Dr. Kenny was confident that they would eat more of it, proving that processed food had expanded their appetites. But something stranger happened. It was as though the rats no longer recognized healthy food as food at all, and they barely ate it. Only when they were starving did they reluctantly start to consume it again.

Though Dr. Kenny’s study was in rats, we can see forms of this behavior everywhere. We are all living in Cheesecake Park — and the satiety-stealing effect of industrially assembled food is evidently what has created the need for these medications. Drugs like Ozempic work precisely by making us feel full. Carel le Roux, a scientist whose research was important to the development of these drugs, says they boost what he and others once called “satiety hormones.”

Once you understand this context, it becomes clear that processed and ultraprocessed food create a raging hole of hunger, and these treatments can repair that hole. Michael Lowe, a professor of psychology at Drexel University who has studied hunger for 40 years, told me the drugs are “an artificial solution to an artificial problem.”

Yet we have reacted to this crisis largely caused by the food industry as if it were caused only by individual moral dereliction. I felt like a failure for being fat and was furious with myself for it. Why do we turn our anger inward and not outward at the main cause of the crisis? And by extension, why do we seek to shame people taking Ozempic but not those who, say, take drugs to lower their blood pressure?

The answer, I think, lies in two very old notions. The first is the belief that obesity is a sin. When Pope Gregory I laid out the seven deadly sins in the sixth century, one of them was gluttony, usually illustrated with grotesque-seeming images of overweight people. Sin requires punishment before you can get to redemption. Think about the competition show “The Biggest Loser,” on which obese people starve and perform extreme forms of exercise in visible agony in order to demonstrate their repentance.

The second idea is that we are all in a competition when it comes to weight. Ours is a society full of people fighting against the forces in our food that are making us fatter. It is often painful to do this: You have to tolerate hunger or engage in extreme forms of exercise. It feels like a contest in which each thin person creates additional pressure on others to do the same. Looked at in this way, people on Ozempic can resemble athletes like the cyclist Lance Armstrong who used performance-enhancing drugs. Those who manage their weight without drugs might think, “I worked hard for this, and you get it for as little as a weekly jab?”

We can’t find our way to a sane, nontoxic conversation about obesity or Ozempic until we bring these rarely spoken thoughts into the open and reckon with them. You’re not a sinner for gaining weight. You’re a typical product of a dysfunctional environment that makes it very hard to feel full. If you are angry about these drugs, remember the competition isn’t between you and your neighbor who’s on weight-loss drugs. It’s between you and a food industry constantly designing new ways to undermine your satiety. If anyone is the cheat here, it’s that industry. We should be united in a struggle against it and its products, not against desperate people trying to find a way out of this trap.

There are extraordinary benefits as well as disturbing risks associated with weight-loss drugs. Reducing or reversing obesity hugely boosts health, on average: We know from years of studying bariatric surgery that it slashes the risks of cancer, heart disease and diabetes-related death. Early indications are that the new anti-obesity drugs are moving people in a similar radically healthier direction, massively reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke. But these drugs may increase the risk for thyroid cancer. I am worried they diminish muscle mass and fear they may supercharge eating disorders. This is a complex picture in which the evidence has to be weighed very carefully.

But we can’t do that if we remain lost in stories inherited from premodern popes or in a senseless competition that leaves us all, in the end, losers. Do we want these weight loss drugs to be another opportunity to tear one another down? Or do we want to realize that the food industry has profoundly altered the appetites of us all — leaving us trapped in the same cage, scrambling to find a way out?

Johann Hari is a British journalist and the author of “Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits — and Disturbing Risks — of the New Weight Loss Drugs,” among other books.

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