Myths & Facts of Fat: 5 Reasons to Check Your Fatphobia

Fatphobia, or prejudice against people with obesity, is all over the place in America. Have you ever seen it on TV, heard it from a friend, or thought it yourself? (Be honest.) Someone with obesity enters the room or crosses the street, and the comment made — or thought — is, why don’t they just stop eating?

This judgment comes out of the notion that overeating causes obesity. And we blame overeating on a person’s lack of self-control. When we see a person with excess weight, we draw the conclusion that they lack the stamina, strength, and motivation that everyone else has, with little to no effort.

We look down on them. We judge them. And, if we ourselves become obese, we turn all that fatphobia on ourselves.

Fatphobia & Myths About Obesity

But all of these conclusions and judgments are based on myths (or fatphobia), not facts. Recent science has found through a variety of studies that people suffer from obesity not from personal failings, but for built-in, biological reasons.

We spoke with board-certified obesity medicine specialist Catherine Varney, DO, to help us understand the truth and undo the fatphobia our culture cultivates.

You’re Wrong if You Think People With Obesity

…Lack Self Control