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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

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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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