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Comment and Health

Why we urgently need to end the stigma around body weight

Anti-obesity efforts are so intertwined with body-shaming attitudes that they actively harm health and well-being, says Becca Muir

By Becca Muir

4 October 2023

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Simone Rotella

WE ALL know how to lose weight, it is simple: eat less, move more.

This sounds logical enough on the surface. The problem is, within this “calories in, calories out” message there is an implied meaning: if you can’t follow these instructions, you must be lazy or lacking self-discipline.

Of course, this doesn’t reflect reality. There is plenty of evidence showing that losing weight isn’t easy and that it is rarely sustained in the long term. Even newer weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy can lead to weight gain when you stop taking them. How heavy we are isn’t…

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