What if the very places we’re told to go to “get healthy” are the same places where we’re shamed for how we look?

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month — a time when we’re encouraged to get moving, celebrate athleticism and participate in sports for our health and well-being. But if this month is truly about encouraging movement for everyone, we need to ask: Why do so many people still feel excluded from sports and fitness spaces?

Not all bodies are treated equally. Some are ridiculed, others are excluded, and many are made to feel like they don’t belong at all.

Weight bias remains one of the last socially acceptable forms of discrimination, creating a deeply rooted cultural barrier that undermines the very goal of this awareness month.

Weight Bias from the Top Down

All it takes is one honest look at sports culture to see how weight bias trickles into our lives from the top down. It plays out publicly, right before our eyes, on our television screens, in our stadiums and across the media.

Take, for instance, when the St. Paul Saints, a Minnesota baseball team, named their famous pig mascot “Ozempig” during the 2024 season—an obvious jab at the rise of people using the medication to manage weight and health. Or how Charles Barkley, former professional basketball player and longtime sports commentator, has continued to mock women in San Antonio for their size during major sports broadcasts.

Even elite athletes aren’t immune. During the 2024 summer Olympics, U.S. Rugby player Ilona Maher went viral for clapping back at a body-shaming TikTok comment made about her BMI—proof that, for many, even exceptional physical performance doesn’t protect against weight-based scrutiny.

These are not isolated incidents. They’re reflections of a broader sports culture that continues to shame larger bodies, even (and especially) in spaces meant to celebrate physical strength, endurance and movement.

Weight Stigma Discourages Sports Participation

But weight bias doesn’t stop with headlines. It filters into our communities—into gyms, classrooms, after-school programs and everyday conversations. People in larger bodies often carry the weight of past experiences with shame, judgment and exclusion. Experiences that make movement feel unsafe or uninviting.

It should not be difficult to understand why someone who’s been mocked or marginalized for their body might hesitate to join a gym, sign up for a sports team or participate in group fitness.

Here are the facts:

  • Weight bias leads to lower levels of physical activity, not because people don’t want to move, but because they’ve been shamed for doing so.
  • Many people with obesity avoid gyms and fitness settings due to traumatic past experiences of judgment, ridicule or exclusion.
  • Weight-based bullying in childhood can lead to lifelong avoidance of sports and a negative relationship with physical activity.
  • According to the Obesity Action Coalition’s Stop Weight Bias Campaign, 42% of U.S. adults say they’ve experienced weight bias, and nearly half say its impacted their ability to manage their weight.

The Paradox of Sports and Fitness Month

Encouraging people to move more and engage in sports is not inherently a bad thing. Our bodies need physical activity. Sports offers countless physical and social benefits. But how can we truly promote “movement for everyone” if we continue reinforcing a culture that only accepts certain bodies?

Be Part of the Solution

As we recognize National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, it’s time to reflect on how our culture treats larger bodies, especially in the spaces we claim are “for health.” We must stop normalizing stigma and discrimination—whether it’s in media commentary, public mascots or within the institutions that shape our access to physical activity.

It’s not enough to just promote movement; we have to change the culture around it. Call out stigma when you see it. Create spaces where every body feels welcome. And remember that true inclusion means more than just opening the door—it means making sure people feel safe and supported walking through it.

To learn more and take action, visit the Stop Weight Bias Campaign at StopWeightBias.com.