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Have you ever gone to your general practitioner to find out why you're always tired, only to be told to lose weight?

Or perhaps you've joined a gym hoping to move more, only to be bombarded with messages about "burning fat" and achieving the "ideal body."

These experiences reflect a common approach to health promotion that treats weight loss as the primary pathway to better health. But decades of research show that focusing on weight worsens weight stigma.

Weight stigma refers to negative attitudes or behaviors toward larger-bodied people based on their weight. It includes unfair assumptions that larger-bodied people are lazy, unintelligent or lack willpower.

These attitudes are so common that treating larger-bodied people badly is often considered "socially acceptable." We even see this play out on popular TV shows like "Parks and Recreation" and "The Office." Larger-bodied characters are often the target of cruel "jokes" for comic relief.

Weight stigma can affect many areas of daily life. Larger-bodied people may avoid playing sports, visiting the doctor or dating because of concerns about how they will be treated.

Weight stigma has also been linked to health and well-being concerns, such as increased disordered eating, suicidal ideation and stress.

Because of this, researchers and advocates have called for approaches to health promotion that support health without focusing on weight loss.

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