If you're living with obesity, you may have encountered weight bias or stigma, even in places where you expect to feel supported—like healthcare settings. These biases can be subtle or obvious, but they have one thing in common: they can prevent you from receiving the compassionate, comprehensive care you deserve.
Weight stigma can lead to feelings of shame, embarrassment, and even reluctance to seek medical help when needed, ultimately affecting both physical and mental well-being. Addressing weight bias in healthcare is crucial to ensure that every individual, regardless of their weight, receives respectful and effective care that meets their unique needs.
Here are some red flags to look out for in healthcare interactions, as well as tips on how to advocate for yourself to ensure your health—not just your weight—is the focus of your care:
1) They Bring Up Your Weight At Every Appointment
Why it’s problematic: Constant focus on your weight can contribute to feelings of body shame and guilt around your eating habits. This focus may even fuel disordered eating behaviors, such as binge eating, as a response to stress or feeling judged. Over time, this weight-centric approach can damage your relationship with food and your body.
How to advocate: Redirect the conversation to the issue at hand by asking specific questions about your symptoms. For instance, you could say, “Is there another potential cause for my symptoms?” or “Can we explore treatments that don’t involve weight loss?”
2) They Ignore History of Eating Disorders or Disordered Eating
Eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors can affect anyone, regardless of weight or body size, and they’re often about more than just food or weight loss. These behaviors may include binge eating, emotional eating, restrictive eating, or a preoccupation with food that can stem from multiple factors from emotional stress, diet culture, trauma, anxiety and more.
A key red flag is when healthcare providers fail to recognize or address these behaviors, focusing solely on weight loss or physical health without considering the emotional and psychological factors at play. For example, someone struggling with binge eating might be advised to "just eat less" or given a weight loss plan, which overlooks the deeper emotional or psychological issues driving the behavior. This narrow focus on weight can leave the underlying disordered eating patterns untreated and worsening the problem.
It's crucial to remember that disordered eating and eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that deserve comprehensive care, regardless of a person's weight or size. Ignoring these patterns can not only delay recovery but also lead to further emotional distress and physical harm.
How to Advocate: If you feel that your eating behaviors are being overlooked or not properly addressed, speak up about your concerns. You might say, “I’m struggling with certain eating behaviors that are affecting my mental and physical health, and I’d like to focus on my overall relationship with food, not just my weight.”
It’s also important to ask for emotional and psychological support if needed. You can say, “I think my relationship with food is affected by x Y and z, and I’d like to explore how we can approach my care from a mental health perspective, too.”
If your healthcare provider seems focused only on weight loss, remind them that your goal is to address your overall well-being, which includes improving your relationship with food and addressing any emotional factors that may be driving disordered eating patterns.
3) They Focus Only on Weight Loss, Not Health
A major red flag is when a healthcare provider centers the entire conversation around weight loss, without discussing other key aspects of your health. While weight can be one factor in health, it’s not the only one—and it’s often not the most important. You deserve care that addresses all parts of your health, including mental well-being, nutrition, sleep, and physical activity.
How to advocate: Ask your provider to focus on health markers beyond weight, such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, or emotional well-being. For example, you might say, “I’d like to talk about ways to improve my energy levels or manage stress,” rather than just focusing on weight loss.
4) They assume you lack willpower or self control
Hearing comments that make you feel judged or reduced to your weight is a big red flag. If your healthcare provider uses terms like “obese” in a negative or dismissive way, or suggests you just need “willpower” to lose weight, it can feel discouraging and unfair. This kind of language doesn’t promote health—it can actually make it harder for you to get the support you need.
How to advocate: If a provider’s language makes you uncomfortable, let them know. You might say, “I prefer to talk about improving my health, not just losing weight,” or “I’d appreciate it if we could avoid focusing solely on my weight in our discussions.”
5) Blaming Your Weight For All Health Problems
Another red flag is when healthcare providers attribute every health issue you have to your weight. For instance, if you go in with joint pain, digestive issues, or fatigue, and the only advice you get is to “lose weight,” you might feel unheard and overlooked. This approach can lead to missed diagnoses and delayed treatments.
How to advocate: Ask specific questions about your symptoms and push for further investigation. For example, you could say, “Is there another possible cause for my pain?” or “Can we explore other treatments besides weight loss?”
6) They Encourage Quick Fixes or Extreme Diets
Be cautious if a healthcare provider suggests extreme measures like crash diets, meal replacement shakes, or intense workout routines that feel unsustainable. These quick fixes often lead to frustration, cycles of weight loss and regain, and a poor relationship with food.
How to advocate: Ask for long-term, evidence-based approaches that focus on building healthy habits over time. For instance, “I’m looking for a plan that I can sustain and that doesn’t feel restrictive. Can we talk about more balanced approaches?”
7) They Ignore Mental Health
Living with weight stigma can take a toll on your mental health, leading to stress, anxiety, or depression. A red flag is when your emotional well-being is ignored, or when providers fail to consider how stigma impacts your experience.
How to advocate: Don’t hesitate to bring up mental health as part of your care. You could say, “I’ve been feeling stressed or anxious about my weight and health. How can we approach this holistically?”
How Weight Stigma Hurts More Than It Helps
Unfortunately, weight stigma is still present in many healthcare settings, and it often leads to harmful outcomes. People who experience stigma are more likely to avoid medical appointments, feel anxious about healthcare interactions, and struggle with disordered eating. Weight stigma can also make it harder to focus on the healthy behaviors that matter most—like moving your body in ways that feel good, eating nutritious foods, and managing stress.
Remember: Your Health Is About More Than a Number
Weight does not define your health, your worth, or your ability to live a happy, fulfilling life. The right healthcare provider will work with you to find sustainable, evidence-based ways to feel your best—without judgement, stigma, or unrealistic expectations. If you ever encounter red flags, don’t be afraid to speak up and advocate for the compassionate care you deserve.
You Deserve Better—Here’s How to Get It
Advocating for yourself in healthcare can be challenging, especially when faced with weight stigma. But it’s important to remember that you deserve care that looks beyond just weight and focuses on your overall well-being.
Set Boundaries: Let your healthcare provider know what kind of language and approach you’re comfortable with. It’s okay to ask them to focus on health, not just weight.
Ask Questions: Don’t be afraid to dig deeper. Ask about other possible causes of your symptoms, and explore treatments that don’t rely solely on weight loss.
Bring Up Your Relationship with Food/Disordered Eating: Your relationship with food is complex. If disordered eating or an eating disorder is being overlooked, you can request to be referred to a specialist in these areas.
Bring Up Mental Health: Your emotional well-being is just as important as your physical health. Don’t hesitate to talk about stress, anxiety, or any other feelings related to your body or weight.
Seek a Second Opinion: If you feel judged or dismissed, it’s okay to seek another healthcare provider who will treat you with respect and offer comprehensive care.
Looking for 1:1 support from a dietitian experienced in weight stigma and compassionate care?Book a free discovery call today to discuss how we can work together to support your health journey.
Joanna Tsintaris, is the Founder of Nourish Dietitian —an online health and nutrition clinic offering personalized 1:1 dietetic advice. She is a registered Dietitian in the UK and Biomedical Science graduate with first class MSc in Nutrition and Dietetics. Specializing in weight loss and Type 2 Diabetes with an interest in sports nutrition, Joanna empowers clients to make sustainable lifestyle changes, addressing conditions like pre-diabetes, PCOS, and more. With a holistic approach, she fosters a healthier relationship with food, challenges weight stigma, and rejects diet culture. Her clinical expertise, coupled with a commitment to evidence-based practice, ensures clients receive compassionate and person-centered care. Beyond her professional pursuits, Joanna, embodies the principles of holistic well-being in her own life, whether practicing yoga, enjoying brunch, or savoring moments with coffee in hand.
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