"Weight gain comments can cause enduring emotional damage"
In Kenya, Sharon's story is not unique. Many Kenyans, particularly women, find themselves reduced to their weight or size in various social settings. This societal norm can have long-lasting and devastating effects on the mental health of young Kenyans.
Fat shaming has been linked to a range of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, disordered eating, low self-esteem, and social withdrawal. These problems often begin in childhood and persist into adulthood. According to a recent report, nearly 29% of Kenyans experience appearance-related pressure that contributes to mental health challenges such as anxiety and low self-esteem.
Clinical Counselling Psychologist Dr Josephine Muthami has identified fat shaming as a pressing public and mental health concern. She likens it to a form of social stigma, leading individuals to feel ashamed, emotionally excluded, and to question their self-worth. This can severely impact how they think, feel, and interact with others.
Young women often face ongoing public humiliation and mockery that compound body image-related stress. The stigma may cause them to avoid public spaces or wear baggy clothes to escape negative attention, deepening feelings of isolation and dissatisfaction. These mental health consequences are serious and long-lasting, sometimes leaving scars "deeper than the skin."
Preventing fat shaming involves raising public awareness about its harmful impacts, challenging societal norms that equate body size with worth or morality, promoting body positivity and acceptance education in schools and communities, encouraging supportive environments, providing access to psychological counseling and support services, and using media responsibly to portray diverse body types positively.
Dr Muthami urges society, families, schools, and the media to create safe spaces and involve professionals for support. Repeated weight-related humiliation can lead to long-term mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and disordered eating. It's important to remember that such experiences can lead to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and even self-harm.
Dr Muthami warns that some may resort to unhealthy coping strategies such as slimming pills or surgery, which can harm the body. Sharon, for example, began wearing baggy clothes to avoid being noticed and stopped eating with friends or meeting them due to their mockery. Repeated fat shaming affects both the body and the mind, trapping individuals in a cycle of dissatisfaction.
The fight against fat shaming in Kenya requires a societal effort to shift harmful stereotypes, support mental health, and create a culture of respect and acceptance, especially targeted at vulnerable groups like young women. While no detailed intervention programs were found in the search results, the general principles of stigma reduction and mental health support apply. It's a call for all Kenyans to take a stand against fat shaming and create a more inclusive and supportive society for everyone.
- To combat the long-term mental health issues resulting from fat shaming, such as anxiety, depression, and disordered eating, Sharon's story suggests a need for epaper articles that raise awareness about the harmful impacts of appearance-related pressure, promoting health-and-wellness and mental-health education.
- As Dr Muthami advocates, the health sector, including health-and-wellness platforms, could play a crucial role in addressing fat shaming by concentrating on body positivity and acceptance education, providing accessible psychological counseling and support services, and advocating for a more inclusive and supportive society through various media, thereby contributing to the fight against this stigma.
