Those who justify fat shaming may argue it's morally or ethically right to embarrass someone into trying to lose weight. But a mountain of scientific evidence suggests fat shaming is psychologically and physically harmful to those it targets. It may even keep victims from seeking health care because they don't want to interact with or encounter physicians and nurses who openly or subtly shame their size.

Ironically, it appears that health care professionals’ attempts to shame their patients into losing weight to improve their health might actually result in weight gain and declines in health status due to inactivity or delay in seeking health care

One study published in 2006 found that "obese" patients were more likely to have significant undiagnosed medical conditions than those classified as "normal" or "underweight." The most common undetected condition was a blood clot, which has symptoms of shortness or breath and chest pain.

While the study didn't explain why physicians failed to diagnose serious conditions in obese patients, the finding suggests the possibility that they attributed the symptoms to a patient's weight and size. It's also possible that patients had inadequate health care access.

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Rebecca Ruiz is a Features Writer at Mashable covering gender, sexuality and equality.