Body Shaming Can Make You Physically Sick

We have already guessed it, now science has provided a first proof: Body shaming can make you physically ill. Why that is so, you can read here…

Body Shaming is still a big topic in our society: “too fat” and “too thin” people are being attacked because of their figure and have to fight against it. It is probably clear to everyone that this criticism does not leave its mark on those affected and can lead to mental problems in serious cases.

However, scientists at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania have now discovered that body shaming can also play a role in physical illness.

Study: Sick through body shaming?

History

Jean Lamont, head of the study at Bucknell University, wanted to find out how body shaming affects health. In an initial study, she had 177 female students respond to statements such as “If I don’t fit in the size I should, I feel ashamed” or “I often feel vulnerable and sick”. The test subjects were asked to indicate how strongly they agreed or disagreed with a statement.

Lamont used the answers to assess the level of “body shaming” and the participants’ attitude towards their own body and health. The women were then asked to state how many infections and diseases they had had in the last five years. Lamont repeated this study with 181 subjects, three months apart.

Results

After Lamont analyzed both studies, she found that women who suffered from body shaming also had more diseases and infections over the last few years. In general, these women valued their health less than women who were satisfied with their bodies. They stated that they smoked, ate unhealthy food and suffered from depressive episodes. Translated, this means that when we feel bad in our bodies, we are less inclined to take care of our health. And that in turn makes us more prone to illness.

What do we learn from this?

The results of the study raise a big question: If so many women feel bad in their bodies, how bad is body shaming really for our health? Although the number of participants is too small to make general statements about the connection between body shaming and disease, we now know one thing: Bad feelings about our bodies can potentially affect our physical health.

And what do we learn from this? We should start to love our body as it is. Why should we risk our health just because we don’t look like supermodels or megastars? And quite honestly: they too are confronted with the topic of body shaming from time to time.