These NZ researchers discuss the ways in which indigenous peoples in colonised countries have been stigmatised for generations for their skin colour, their beliefs and their culture. Over the last few decades, public and clinical health body weight has focused on body weight. This article describes how ‘recommended weight ranges’ support racist attitudes toward Māori, as an indigenous group. The BMI, which correlates with population data on health status, classifies people as underweight, ‘normal’, overweight and obese by weight ranges that do not account for inter (and intra) ethnic variation in body type. Evidence from studies on institutional and societal racism, as well as critical research on weight stigma and the weight loss industry, reveals how perceptions of weight have blamed indigenous (Māori) peoples for being fat and for being less productive (or moral) because they are fat. The article points out that a weight loss-centred approach has not improved the health of indigenous people. Instead, this approach upholds racist sentiment towards indigenous peoples in developed nations, who are more likely to be overweight, obese and disproportionately affected by weight-induced comorbidities and physical disorders, in comparison with other peoples in those nations. Psychological, emotional and social issues underlie those weight-associated physical ailments. These study researchers propose indigenous solutions based on local, traditional knowledge that provide an alternative to weight-focused health promotion and could serve as pathways out of fat shaming.
