How The Stigma Against Obesity Harms People’s Health

And stigma creates a vicious cycle. People who report experiencing weight stigma are more likely to gain weight in the future and attain a BMI categorized as “obese.” Behavior likely contributes to this trend: When people get stressed out, they tend to soothe themselves with comfort food and are more likely to fail at attempts to self-regulate — meaning that, among other things, they are less likely to stick to a healthful diet. But there is also some evidence that physiological factors contribute to weight gain among people who experience stigma. A. Janet Tomiyama, a psychology professor at UCLA, is studying the relationship between weight stigma and cortisol, a hormone that responds strongly to stress. Cortisol signals the body to store more fat, especially in the abdominal area, and it increases appetite and makes the brain’s reward centers more sensitive in response to treats like sugar and fatty foods. And that’s what makes weight stigma doubly pernicious, she said. In addition to the pain and stress it causes, “experiencing it makes the original condition more exacerbated.”