Fat Shaming

Was food restricted in your house?

Was a parent ashamed of you because of your weight? Did you grow up hearing a parent expressing contempt for their own body or weight? If you were labelled fat as a child, were you shamed in public as well as at home?

Fat shaming our bodies is conditioned in our culture from early childhood and continues throughout life. It leads to suffering, disconnection from our bodies and worth, and a compulsion to escape, including through food.

Diets fail for 95% of people because they work against the way we evolved to store fat to survive famine. For some, decades of using food for comfort and emotional survival has set up deep biological grooves and habits. This is part of what is in play with people who become insulin resistant and develop Type 2 Diabetes.

We are subject to persistent manipulation by advertisers who push high fat high sugar “fast foods” that are cheap and available everywhere. These foods set up a dependency in our body that becomes compulsive. Eating them stimulates dopamine and creates a temporary relief. Many eat these foods all day, and some eat healthy during the day and only binge at night or in secret.

People who are a heavier weight, or who lose and gain weight through dieting, are subjected to judgments, stereotypes, and shaming comments. In…