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Adolescence
Prioritizing Children: Tackling Fat Body Marginalization
Fostering inclusive diet culture to help kids overcome societal body size biases.
Updated June 26, 2024 Reviewed by Ray Parker
Key points
- Focusing on children's well-being and prioritizing their needs and health.
- Combating body size marginalization and addressing the associated issues.
- The unique challenges faced by children with larger body sizes, particularly Black girls.
- Creating an inclusive environment and supporting children overcoming body size biases.
I vividly remember a moment from my childhood when my peers made me aware of my body size. Their words and actions conveyed the hurtful message that being fat equated to being inferior and deserving of mistreatment. This early encounter led to insecurity and self-doubt, and I believed the only escape from their cruelty was to deprive myself of nourishment. This experience negatively impacted my body perception and led to a tumultuous relationship with food that lingered for years.
The ongoing efforts to shift the conversation about diet culture are much needed. In discussions like Making The Shift: A New Way to Think About Weight, the focus is on changing our mindset regarding weight. Rather than concentrating solely on dieting and the numbers on the scale, the emphasis is on a holistic approach that highlights self-acceptance, self-compassion, and finding joy in the journey towards a healthier lifestyle. This perspective moves away from merely aiming for a specific weight goal. An important theme that emerges from these conversations is the need to make this shift early. Many participants, both online and in-studio audiences, have shared experiences from their childhoods when they were mistreated for having larger bodies, underscoring the importance of addressing these issues from a young age.
Every child deserves a nurturing environment where they feel secure and embraced, shielded from harmful notions that falsely equate thinness with superiority while vilifying larger bodies. Yet, societal messaging from an early age inundates us with the ideal of thinness, perpetuating harmful stereotypes through media, advertising, and interpersonal interactions. Research shows that children as young as three internalize negative perceptions of larger body sizes (Spiel et al., 2012), influenced by factors like parental guidance and peer interactions (e.g., Barbeau, Carbonneau, & Pelletier, 2022; Domoff et al., 2021; Laboe, Hocking, & Gondoli, 2022; McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2005; Pecini et al., 2023).
However, the narrative in some weight loss discussions still centers around marginalizing fat bodies and pathologizing them, promoting the idea that thinner bodies are more desirable or virtuous. A growing sentiment in these conversations suggests that we should be more empathetic towards people in larger bodies, acknowledging that factors like biology and genetics play significant roles in how people live in their bodies. Weight Watchers CEO Sima Sistani noted, "Biology is a big part of how people live in their bodies; it's not just choice, it's your genetics...."
This shift in thinking about weight inadvertently contributes to harmful stereotypes and discrimination against fat individuals. Instead of promoting weight loss and policing bodies, we should advocate for body acceptance and celebrate the diversity of human bodies.
Criticism, mockery, and unwarranted health assumptions based on body size remain prevalent, particularly targeting female bodies. Shocking statistics reveal that 29% of females aged 10–14 have attempted weight loss (McVey et al., 2005), highlighting the pervasive impact of societal pressures. In the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a nationally representative sample of US high school students, 35% of females and 29% of males described themselves as slightly or very overweight; 57 % of girls and 36 % of boys reported trying to lose weight for weight control purposes. Early messaging that demonizes fatness exacerbates the stress of weight stigma experienced during key developmental periods like puberty.
During the pubertal transition, the body's basal metabolism rate (BMR; the amount of energy your body needs to maintain homeostasis) decreases by approximately 15%, causing an increase in body fat-to-muscle ratio (Bitar et al., 2000). Sex assigned at birth plays a significant role in BMR during adolescence, with girls having a lower BMR than boys, given their pubertal increase in fat mass (Cheng et al., 2016). As a result, girls often experience significant weight changes during puberty, but unfortunately, they are not adequately prepared for this.
A recent review of 13 popular books about girls' puberty highlighted that these resources often promote cultural fat-phobic scripts, which can contradict their intended developmental messages (Blazek, Arnault, and Carter, 2024). These books usually present discussions about weight in a negative light, and expectations around weight gain often need to be clarified or expanded. This can lead to conflicting messages about weight, which can reinforce weight stigma and negative body image. The intersectionality of race, gender, and class further complicates this issue, determining whose bodies are scrutinized and controlled (Hethorn & Kaiser, 1999).
Black female bodies are disproportionately policed, especially as they tend to experience puberty earlier than their White counterparts (Cabrera et al., 2014; Herman-Giddens et al., 1997; Herman-Giddens et al., 2012). This premature development subjects them to heightened scrutiny and control, extending even to disciplinary actions in school, such as dress code violations (Blake et al., 2011; Morris & Perry, 2017).
This hyper-surveillance perpetuates the pressure to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards, contributing to low self-esteem and negative body image among Black girls. To combat these harmful narratives, I founded Double Digits, a program aimed at empowering Black girls to challenge societal expectations regarding gender and body image. Through Double Digits, we offer a range of activities, including workshops on self-love and body positivity and activities that celebrate diverse forms of beauty and strength. Our goal is to create a supportive space where Black girls can embrace their identities and thrive beyond limiting stereotypes during the pubertal transition.
Recognizing the critical developmental stage of puberty and its profound impact on body image, initiatives like Making The Shift: A New Way to Think About Weight should prioritize children, particularly Black girls. The systemic oppression in fat body marginalization affects some social groups more acutely than others, with Black girls often bearing the brunt of these harmful narratives. Every Black girl deserves to exist in a society free from weight discrimination. We must challenge harmful beliefs, promote body positivity, and embrace body diversity to create a world where Black girls of all shapes and sizes are valued and respected.
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