Effective health policy in the arena of obesity intervention and
prevention requires full understanding of how stigma, and such
related issues as discrimination, are linked to being “fat” (Stuber,
Meyer, & Link, 2008). In this case, influencing family and friends
to be less judgmental may be of little assistance in alleviating its
stigma. For example, stigma-reduction research in the area of
obesity suggests educating people to reduce their judgment of
weight. In a summary of the current research and an extended
discussion of research priorities going forward, Puhl and Heuer
(2009: 958) conclude that “[S]ocial influence and social norms
appear especially important in efforts to reduce discriminatory
attitudes toward obese people, and additional research in this area
is warranted.” Our findings suggest that at least in the case of
people’s immediate social networks this may not be the case, and
highlight to need for more systematic research on this point,
especially given the influence of this thinking on philosophy and
practice in medicine and public health. The assumption that norms
e including those expressed by those we are closest to and in the
most contact with e actually affect stigma experiences needs to be
very critically tested.