Dr. T at Bruin Family Weekend!

Last week, Dr. T spoke at UCLA’s annual Bruin Family Weekend. She gave a presentation titled, “Fat Shaming: The Science and Solutions,” to students and their families.

Here is a brief overview of her talk: “We live in a society with widespread fat shaming. Research shows that weight discrimination, anti-fat bias, and stigma against obesity have increased in past decades. Dr. T showed that fat shaming has real consequences, not only for mental health but also physical health. Instead of motivating weight loss, fat shaming backfires. It triggers stress and stress hormones, which ironically bring about weight gain. It also makes people eat unhealthy foods like M&Ms and potato chips. Solving the problem of fat shaming will not be easy, but Dr. T discussed potential solutions. The audience received a glimpse into the workings of the DiSH Lab in an immersive presentation that showed how societal phenomena like fat shaming can be studied using a scientific lens.”