“Eat less and exercise more.” “Change your behavior and you’ll lose weight.” “It’s all in your head.” “It’s your lack of willpower.” “You’re selfish and lazy.” This is what people with obesity often hear from the media, friends, family and strangers. Sadly, it’s what many hear from their doctors, too. More than half of patients with obesity reported experiencing weight stigma and of those, 66% experienced this stigma from physicians, according to a 2021 study conducted in six Western countries. That included perceived judgment from doctors about their weight. The result was patients with higher internalized weight bias avoiding healthcare visits more frequently than those without internalized bias.
