Why Do We Change for Some Health Risks, but Not for Our Weight?
When someone finds out they have a heart condition, the motivation to change is immediate. The same goes for a diagnosis like celiac disease—overnight, a person will cut out gluten because the link between action and consequence is undeniable.
Yet when it comes to weight, even though the risks are just as real—heart disease, type 2 diabetes, joint issues, sleep apnea, cancers—many people hesitate. They might even reject the idea altogether.
Why is it that we’ll make huge lifestyle changes for some health conditions, but not for our weight?
Fear vs. Comfort
Urgent diagnoses create fear, and fear is a powerful motivator. A heart condition feels life-threatening right now. Celiac disease causes immediate, painful consequences if ignored. The choice is clear: change or suffer.
But excess weight doesn’t feel urgent. The body often absorbs the impact quietly, until years later when disease appears. Without the same immediate feedback loop, it’s easy to delay action. Comfort in the present outweighs risk in the future.
Identity and Emotion
Changing for a disease feels external—it’s something happening to us. Changing for weight feels personal. It’s tied to our identity, our history with food, our body image, our self-worth. For many, even acknowledging weight feels like admitting failure.
That emotional weight makes it harder to act. It’s easier to follow a rule like “avoid gluten” than to untangle years of habits, beliefs, and feelings around food and body.
The Normalisation Trap
We also live in a society where carrying extra weight is common, and poor diet is the cultural default. When “normal” is takeout, processed snacks, and little movement, it’s harder to see those behaviours as dangerous.
No one questions that smoking is harmful. But excess body fat? We’ve normalised it so much that pointing it out is often seen as an attack rather than concern.
Why We Label It “Shaming”
Telling someone they should lose weight can trigger defensiveness because it’s been said before—sometimes cruelly, sometimes without compassion. The word “fat” has been weaponised for decades, so even when weight is discussed as a health risk, it lands as judgment.
As a result, society pushes back. We call it “fat shaming,” even though the real issue is how we’ve been conditioned to hear the message.
Intrinsic Motivation: The Missing Link
Ultimately, change that lasts comes from within. Fear can spark action, but it doesn’t sustain it. True, lasting change requires aligning with deeper values:
Wanting to feel strong and capable in daily life.
Wanting to live long enough to enjoy children and grandchildren.
Wanting energy, confidence, and freedom from constant fatigue or discomfort.
When people connect their habits to something meaningful, change stops feeling like punishment and starts feeling like self-respect.
A Different Perspective
Instead of seeing weight as a moral failing or as “shameful,” we need to reframe it as one piece of the bigger health picture. Just like cholesterol or blood sugar, body composition is information. It’s feedback from your body, not a verdict on your character.
The question isn’t, “Do I need to lose weight?”
It’s, “What kind of life do I want to create for myself, and what habits will help me get there?”
Final Thought
We’ll change instantly when the threat is immediate. But what if we learned to change for the long-term rewards—the energy, vitality, and freedom that come from treating our bodies well—before the crisis arrives?
That’s the difference between living in fear of disease and living in pursuit of health.
Do you want me to sharpen this into something more bold and challenging (to really provoke the reader), or keep it gentle but motivating, so it’s more inviting for someone who might already feel defensive?