'The dentist was worried I might break his chair': The hurtful fat-shaming experienced by overweight women three times a day

As part of the research, a group of 50 overweight and obese women kept daily diaries for a week; 1,077 weight-stigmatizing events were reported

Overweight women endure an average of three fat-shaming moments every day, according to a recent article in the Journal of Health Psychology.



The study's lead author, psychologist Jason Seacat of Western New England University, asked 50 overweight and obese women, whom he recruited from public weight forums online, to keep daily diaries for a week.

A total of 1,077 weight-stigmatizing events were reported - from teenagers making 'moo' sounds at a woman in a store, to a dentist being worried a female patient was going to break his chair.

A heavy issue: A new study shows that overweight woman get fat-shamed an average of three times per day (file photo)

Dr Seacat sent Science of Us a list of other cringe-inducing moments that the women, who mostly happened to be Caucasian, experienced.



'I was told what a bad mother I am because I can’t set limits as to what my son or his friends eat during sleepovers, because I can’t even control myself.'



'With friends at a baby shower I went to McDonald's first so people wouldn’t look at me eating more than I should.'



'Boyfriend’s mother denied me access to food, also stated that I was so fat because I was lazy.'

THE WORST OF THE WORST: EXPERIENCES REPORTED DURING THE WEEK-LONG STUDY

'I was told what a bad mother I am because I can’t set limits as to what my son or his friends eat during sleepovers, because I can’t even control myself.'

'Teenager made animal sounds (moo) outside the store.'

'Boyfriend's mother denied me access to food; also stated that I was so fat because I was lazy.'

'The dentist was worried I might break his chair.'

'With friends at a baby shower I went to McDonald's first so people wouldn't look at me eating more than they should.'



'My ex-boss looked at me several times in a restaurant but acted like he didn’t know me. I worked for him for 5 years but he always hated fat people.'

'Spent the day gardening – realized with this survey how much time I spend alone.'

Of the nearly 1,200 stigmatizing events, the highest percentage of women experienced 'physical barriers' (84per cent), 'nasty comments from others' (74per cent), 'being stared at' (72per cent) and 'others making negative assumptions' (72per cent).



The least frequent fat-shaming events were 'job discrimination' (22per cent), 'comments from doctors' (16per cent) and 'being physically attacked' (12per cent).



Not surprisingly, fat-shaming can have devastating consequences on a woman's psychological well-being, the article says, including lower self-esteem and clinical depression.



But the negative attention can also wreak havoc on physical health - and, interestingly, prevent weight loss.



'Emerging data indicate that weight stigma may have negative health consequences such as binge eating, reduced weight loss success and diminished personal exercise and dietary health,' the study says.

