Pregnant women gain weight as their baby grows inside them, and even though it is a normal occurrence, this sudden body change attracts unwanted attention from family members, friends, and even strangers. Fat-shaming is everywhere and a recent study showed that it can not only damage the self-esteem of pregnant women, it can also affect their health.
Effects of fat-shaming on pregnant women
Overweight women receive negative comments from the public, and the study shows that because of this they are at a greater risk for diabetes and heart disease. According to research that was published in the journal Obesity, women who internalize all the negative comments about their weight had health issues.
Believe it or not, fat-shaming is also experienced by pregnant women who have visible weight gain before and after labor. Recent research showed that two-thirds of pregnant women and those who already gave birth experienced weight stigma, especially after being around family and friends.
Around 21% of those women experienced hearing negative comments about their weight from immediate family members, 25% of women were stigmatized by what they see and hear from the media and 33% experienced shaming from friends and strangers. What is more alarming is that there are women who stated that they experienced body-shaming from their doctors, even while they were pregnant and weight gain should be understandable.
Why is there a weight stigma?
Weight stigma is a form of discrimination against overweight people, obese people and those whose body shape does not match what the society labels as "beautiful" or "perfect". Throughout the years, celebrities and the media are fighting this stigma, but there are still those who are stuck with the idea that people, especially women, need to be stick thin in order to be respected, to be taken seriously and to be considered healthy.
The issue is that there are a lot of factors why some people find it difficult to shed weight, it can be because of genetics or illness. Studies have also shown that depression and anxiety can cause weight gain as eating is a form of emotional outlet for some people. Pregnant women gain weight because they are carrying another life inside them and they need to eat for two people, and even after giving birth shedding the extra pounds is not easy because the metabolism changes and new mothers find it difficult to have enough time to sleep, let alone exercise.
The way to compact this ongoing weight bias and discrimination is to educate the public. This is an ongoing effort that all of us should participate in. It is true that the media is shinning some light on this topic but at the same time, the media promotes the "thin is beautiful" mentality as seen in magazines, photoshoots, models and even on TV shows and movies. The constant belittling of overweight and obese people through fat "jokes" does not help, it can be damaging for those who see them and it can be mimicked by anyone.
If you are experiencing discrimination about your weight, you can educate others about what you are going through. At the same time, you need to condition yourself and know that there is nothing wrong with you, and your beauty should not be distorted by the ideas that are constructed by society.
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