Weight stigma is a very common discrimination that happens toward obese or overweight people. But you should understand you are not alone in this battle against this thought process. What you need to do is to self-accept yourself and try to change the perspective of people about body weight. With the help of the above-mentioned tips, you can change that and save yourself from harmful physical and mental stress. Log on to https://bariatricbrooklyn.com/ to know more about weight loss surgery. 

Consequences of weight stigma 

Weight stigma can mentally and physically affect the person who experiences it. 

• Mentally they experience depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, and body dissatisfaction.  
• Ironically, weight stigma over time actually discourages people from seeking out healthy behaviors and causes them to gain weight. People who experience weight stigma are more likely to engage in disordered eating or harmful eating habits, such as binge eating, regardless of their body mass index (BMI).  
• Additionally, they are more prone to avoid exercise and report feeling uncomfortable working out in front of others, leading to anxiety disorders. 
• Self-harm and drug use is also a behavioral problem, especially when persons internalize sizeist beliefs and start to stigmatize themselves  
• Numerous disordered eating behaviors, including binge eating, emotional eating, restricted eating, weight cycling, and eating anxiety, have been positively connected with weight stigma.  
• Lastly, there are instances where weight stigmatization is so extreme that it has been directly linked to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. 

While some studies show that physical effects can motivate some people to lose weight after being stigmatized. However, the opposite effect is also true. People can experience these issues after being discriminated such as:  

• The fear of stigma may cause people to put off getting medical attention, which puts obstacles in the way of efforts to prevent and cure obesity. 
• Gain extra weight.  
• High risk of developing diabetes. 
• Increased levels of cortisol in the body: Numerous scientific studies link a few major medical issues to obesity. However, more recent research has produced findings that suggest weight stigma plays a critical role in the emergence of some of these medical disorders. For instance, it has been discovered that stigma around weight, independent of adiposity, positively corresponds with elevated levels of stress hormones. For instance, it has been discovered that stigma around weight, independent of adiposity, positively corresponds with elevated levels of stress hormones. Numerous aspects of health, including blood pressure, heart health, visceral fat levels, and insulin resistance, have been linked to stress. 
• Experience an imbalance in antioxidants and free radicals which can lead to a condition known as oxidative stress.  

 How to deal with it? 

After being stigmatized, most people find it difficult to deal with it, particularly when experiencing discrimination in the most unexpected ways. The best way to deal with it is to improve your self-talk and let go of what others make you feel about your weight as it’s their problem, not yours, and learn self-love and acceptance.  

Here are certain things you can do to counter the weight bias and stop the stigma against you:

• Answer respectfully when they talk about your weight.  
• Challenge their belief that when it comes to judging a person, a person’s character, and behavior matter more than a person’s body weight.  
• Choose appropriate images in a positive light when you talk about weight and health which encourage people to respect people of all different shapes and sizes. This can very much be possible for people who are involved in the media. 

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