How Weight Stigma Contributes to Eating Disorders

Weight stigma is the judgment or discrimination someone experiences because of their body size—and it’s more common than you might think. While many people associate eating disorders with thinness, the truth is that eating disorders affect people of all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, weight stigma not only harms mental and physical health, but it can also directly contribute to the development and worsening of eating disorders.

From a young age, many people are taught that being thin is good and being in a larger body is bad. These messages come from all around us—social media, movies, family, doctors, and even schools. Over time, these messages can lead people to feel ashamed of their bodies, afraid of gaining weight, or desperate to lose it. This can lead to unhealthy behaviors like skipping meals, over-exercising, bingeing, purging, or using diet pills. In some cases, this turns into a full-blown eating disorder.

What’s worse is that weight stigma can prevent people from getting help. If someone in a larger body seeks treatment, they may not be taken seriously or may even be encouraged to lose more weight—even if they’re already struggling with disordered eating. People often report feeling dismissed or blamed for their health issues simply because of their weight, which can lead to more shame, isolation, and unhealthy coping strategies.

Even in eating disorder recovery, weight stigma can make healing harder. People may feel pressure to “look” a certain way to be believed or supported, or they may fear gaining weight as part of recovery. Comments from others—like praising weight loss or questioning someone’s illness based on their appearance—can be incredibly damaging.

The truth is, you cannot tell if someone has an eating disorder based on how they look. Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that deserve care and compassion, no matter someone’s size. To truly support recovery, we need to let go of the idea that thin equals healthy—and instead focus on helping people heal their relationship with food, movement, and their bodies.