There's no such thing as an "ideal fitness body" (and other lies)

In June, I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel at Elevate, the UK's largest trade event dedicated to physical activity. One of the first questions we asked our audience was simple: Raise your hand if you think there is such a thing as an "ideal fitness body".

Surprisingly—and gratefully—very few people raised their hands. This audience, who had specifically chosen to attend our session on weight bias and weight stigma in the fitness industry, among a huge range of other sessions (many of which focused on weight loss and weight management), believed that fitness doesn't have a "look". That we can be fit in any body. That bodies come in all shapes, sizes, genders, ages, and abilities.

But as I walked around the rest of the expo, the story was very different.

I passed a swimwear stand that didn't stock my size.

I passed equipment stalls with weight machines that had very low weight limits.

I saw ads for nutritional supplements and low-sugar drinks that villainised foods that are typically considered "unhealthy". 

I saw endless posters of thin, white, hyper-muscular, able-bodied models plastered across banners and stands.

So yes, many of us may no longer personally believe in the "ideal fitness body". But the fitness industry as a whole most definitely does.

The appearance ideal may also have shifted slightly over the years, but it sure as hell isn't inclusive. While we are (slowly, finally) acknowledging that BMI is bullsh*t [1], that women can and should build muscle, and that strength comes in many forms, the dominant ideal is still there: thin, white, able-bodied, young, and gendered.

This is exactly why my research goes beyond the individual.

Yes, we can tell people to "love themselves", to "accept their bodies as they are", or to "focus on health, not weight". But individuals don't exist in a vacuum.

At some point, we all have to step out into the world—to book a flight, go to work, walk into a gym, or see a doctor. And when we do, the reality is often harsh. People in larger bodies are still:

• denied healthcare or misdiagnosed because weight is blamed for every symptom [2],

• fat-shamed by strangers [3],

• discriminated against at work [4], and

• excluded from everyday spaces because the chairs, equipment, or facilities weren't designed for them [5].

Social media doesn't (always) help. Body positivity, a movement that was born out of fat activism and created to centre and liberate fat, marginalised bodies, has been co-opted. Today, it is often represented by thin, white influencers showing off carefully posed skin folds—bodies that already fit comfortably within societal ideals—while the most marginalised bodies remain invisible (or hyper visible).

And yet, so much of the research still focuses on the individual. 

"How can you love your body more?" 

"How can you appreciate your body and what it can do?" 

"How can you be more active and less sedentary?"

Meanwhile, there are almost no policies protecting people from weight-based discrimination (though there are some exceptions [6–8]).

There are thousands of studies equating higher weight with poorer health outcomes—but very little effort to make healthcare more weight-inclusive by, say, providing larger blood pressure cuffs, wider chairs, better medical equipment, or training staff to reduce weight bias.

There are countless physical activity interventions trying to make people move more, but almost no large-scale interventions or policies aimed at making gyms safer, more inclusive, or more accessible [9, 10].

I also want to acknowledge the "do it fat" movement on social media, which, on the surface, I absolutely, whole-heartedly agree with. The idea is simple but powerful: we shouldn't wait until we lose weight to do the things we want to do—whether that's travelling, moving our bodies, going on adventures, dating, or buying clothes we actually like. Life isn't on hold until we shrink ourselves.

But is it always that straightforward?

Can we really buy clothes we like in our size? Can we travel comfortably when airplane seats are so small? Can we take part in activities that come with weight or size restrictions?

The truth is, sometimes we can, and sometimes, systemic barriers still get in the way. Which is why both the spirit of "do it fat" and the fight for more inclusive, accessible systems matter so much.

Where do we go from here?

There is an urgent need to move beyond the individual and towards a more systemic approach to tackling body image concerns and weight bias. If we are serious about promoting health and well-being, we must build societies, communities, and industries that are genuinely inclusive—spaces that celebrate and embrace body diversity, rather than silently (or not so silently) reinforcing narrow ideals.

Because we don't exist in isolation. We exist in society and in environments shaped by policies, systems, industries, and the people around us.

This is why conversations like the panel at Elevate are so important. They remind us that while many of us are questioning and rejecting the myth of the "ideal fitness body", we must keep pushing for broader systemic change, so that one day, the industry reflects the same truth our audience already knew: fitness does not have a look.

That's all for now—thank you for being here and for making a commitment to make movement spaces more inclusive for all bodies!

New posts go live on the 1st of every month.

References

1. Franco, J. V. A., Gram, E. G., Meyer, L., Grandi, D., Cruzat, B., Christiansen, L. B., & Køster-Rasmussen, R. (2025). Beyond body mass index: Rethinking doctors' advice for weight loss. BMJ, 389. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2025-084654

2. Pearl, R. L., & Sheynblyum, M. (2025). How weight bias and stigma undermine healthcare access and utilization. Current Obesity Reports, 14(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-025-00605-3

3. Cerolini, S., Vacca, M., Zegretti, A., Zagaria, A., & Lombardo, C. (2024). Body shaming and internalized weight bias as potential precursors of eating disorders in adolescents. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1356647. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1356647

4. Giel, K. E., Thiel, A., Teufel, M., Mayer, J., & Zipfel, S. (2010). Weight bias in work settings–a qualitative review. Obesity Facts, 3(1), 33–40. https://doi.org/10.1159/000276992

5. Evans, B., Colls, R., & Bias, S. (2024). 'Getting in and going': Access to onboard toilets for fat and disabled people on commercial aircraft. Geoforum, 148, 103908. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2016.23

6. BBC News. (2023, May 19). New York City passes law barring weight discrimination. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65562288

7. City of Reykjavik (2016). Human Rights Policy. https://reykjavik.is/en/city-of-reykjavikshuman-rights-policy

8. Sabharwal, S., Campoverde Reyes, K. J., & Stanford, F. C. (2020). Need for legal protection against weight discrimination in the United States. Obesity, 28(10), 1784–1785. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22974

9. Schneider, J., Tinoco, A., Scott, B., Witcomb, G. L., Matheson, E. L., & Diedrichs, P. C. (2024). A systematic review of interventions that aim to reduce implicit and explicit weight biases among fitness professionals. Recreational Sports Journal, 48(2), 197–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/15588661241280200

10. Schneider, J., Tinoco, A., Selmes, R., Scott, B., Witcomb, G. L., Matheson, E. L., & Diedrichs, P. C. (2024). Understanding fitness professionals' weight biases and uptake of weight-inclusive practices: Findings from a mixed-methods survey. Stigma and Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000567