A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions that reduce weight stigma towards self or others

Weight stigma is one of the most pervasive negative consequences faced by individuals living with higher body weight. These individuals are denigrated on the basis that their putatively excess body weight is controllable, but contributes to a public health “epidemic” (e.g., James, 2004) or “crisis” (e.g., Freedman, 2011) linked to cancer, Type II diabetes, and cardiovascular issues (Guh et al., 2009), mortality risk (Flegal et al., 2013), and global economic burden (Withrow & Alter, 2011). Instead, higher bodyweight has been found to be associated with poor health or illness and the consequential medical cost, but this relationship disappears when lifestyle habits (e.g., consuming fruit and vegetables, avoiding alcohol and smoking, and engaging in exercise) are accounted for (Gaesser et al., 2015; Matheson et al., 2012; Oftedal et al., 2019). Nonetheless, the pervasive message to those living with higher body weight is that their weight is legitimate grounds for the stigma, prejudice, and discrimination they experience (Spahlholtz et al., 2016).