{
  "id": 17664384,
  "title": "Sick of being told to ‘just lose weight’? Health promotion shouldn’t come with weight stigma",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/sick-of-being-told-to-just-lose-weight-health-promotion-shouldnt-come",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-01T19:17:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Conversation AU",
    "slug": "the-conversation-au",
    "url": "https://theconversation.com/sick-of-being-told-to-just-lose-weight-health-promotion-shouldnt-come-with-weight-stigma-294947"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Have you ever visited your doctor to discuss persistent fatigue, only for them to suggest losing weight as the solution? Or maybe you've joined a fitness center with the intention of increasing your physical activity, only to be inundated with advertisements promoting \"fat burning\" and the pursuit of an \"ideal physique\"? These scenarios represent a widespread approach to health promotion that posits weight loss as the key to better health. However, numerous studies have demonstrated that concentrating on weight exacerbates weight stigma. Weight stigma encompasses negative attitudes or actions towards individuals who are larger in size due to their weight. It encompasses erroneous assumptions that larger-sized people are lazy, unintelligent, or lack determination. These attitudes are so prevalent that treating larger-sized individuals poorly is frequently considered socially acceptable. We even observe this phenomenon in popular television shows like Parks and Recreation and The Office, where larger-sized characters are frequently subjected to disparaging \"jokes\" for comedic effect. Weight stigma can impact various aspects of daily life. Larger-sized individuals may abstain from participating in sports, visiting healthcare professionals, or dating due to apprehensions about how they will be treated. Weight stigma has also been associated with mental health issues such as disordered eating, suicidal thoughts, and stress. Consequently, researchers and advocates have advocated for health promotion strategies that prioritize well-being without emphasizing weight loss. Our recent research elucidates how this can be achieved. What's the problem with the current situation? Health promotion seeks to establish conditions that enable individuals to manage and enhance their health and well-being. A fundamental commitment of health promotion is ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to improve their health and well-being. This entails addressing the wider determinants of health and well-being, such as income, housing, education, transportation, and healthcare access. Enhancing financial stability, for instance, can facilitate people's ability to afford nutritious food and secure housing. Health promotion focused solely on weight loss has been critiqued for its deviation from these objectives. Encouraging weight loss and lifestyle modifications to improve health perpetuates the notion that advancing public health is predominantly a personal responsibility. Our research introduces an alternative approach known as size-inclusive health promotion. What does size-inclusive health promotion entail? Size-inclusive health promotion diverges from weight-loss-centric approaches and addresses weight stigma. We conducted a scoping review (which summarizes existing evidence on a specific topic) of size-inclusive health promotion across 58 studies, identifying 27 distinct initiatives including guidelines, campaigns, programs, and local health strategies implemented in healthcare, education, recreation, and fitness settings. Several examples of size-inclusive health promotion already exist in Australia, such as VicHealth's This Girl Can campaign, the Better Health Network's Towards Size Inclusive Health Promotion resource, the National Eating Disorders Collaboration's Eating Disorder Safe Principles, and The Embrace Collective's Body Blocks program. While initiatives varied, certain practical strategies for implementing size-inclusive health promotion emerged repeatedly: 1. Utilize non-stigmatizing, neutral language All health-related, weight, and body-related communications should eschew stigmatizing or harmful language. Instead, terms like fat, higher-weight, and larger-bodied (depending on individual preferences) should be employed. For instance, a health service or gym might review newsletters, posters, and websites to eliminate stigmatizing language (such as \"unhealthy weight,\" \"overweight,\" or \"obesity\"). Although these terms may appear \"medical,\" larger-sized individuals often perceive them as stigmatizing. 2. Represent people of diverse body sizes in health promotion materials Health promotion materials should incorporate images and videos featuring larger-sized people, similar to footage used in This Girl Can showcasing women of diverse body sizes engaging in physical activities. 3. Ensure environments are safe and welcoming for individuals of all sizes All body sizes deserve to feel comfortable and welcomed in various environments. This could involve sporting clubs ensuring their equipment is safe and comfortable for larger-sized individuals to utilize or healthcare providers ensuring that blood pressure cuffs and waiting room seating are appropriate for larger bodies. These three strategies offer \"quick wins\" that can be implemented across diverse settings, including governmental, healthcare, educational, fitness, recreational, and community contexts. Thus far, evaluation data suggest that size-inclusive health promotion may yield positive psychological and behavioral outcomes, including enhanced appearance satisfaction and increased exercise motivation. Nonetheless, broader policy interventions are still required for the full realization of size-inclusive health promotion. This entails recognizing weight stigma as a public health concern, increasing government and industry funding for size-inclusive health promotion, and revising and updating health policies to be size-inclusive. Progressing size-inclusive health promotion necessitates collaborative efforts from governments, healthcare providers, policymakers, researchers, community organizations, and others. Ultimately, each and every one of us bears a responsibility to diminish weight stigma. Evangeline Gardiner, a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, is currently investigating size-inclusive approaches to health promotion. Her research is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. Gardiner is a member of Size Inclusive Health Australia (SIHA) and serves on the Health System Advocacy Working Group. As a larger-sized individual, Gardiner draws upon her personal and professional experiences to advocate for health and well-being strategies that cater to individuals of all shapes and sizes.",
  "summary": "Health promotion often treats weight loss as the primary pathway to better health – but it’s not. Here’s what the alternative looks like.",
  "key_points": [
    "Health promotion often suggests weight loss as key to better health",
    "Weight stigma leads to negative attitudes toward larger-sized individuals",
    "Size-inclusive health promotion focuses on well-being without weight stigma"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}