LaTrobe's Leah Brennan on What does Australia really think about obesity

59 per cent of people aren't happy with their current weight and 56 per cent have tried dieting in the past year.

Such is society's preoccupation with weight that almost a third of Australians would give up 10 years of their life to effortlessly maintain their ideal weight.

But it's not just our own weight we're focused on...

Clinician and researcher Leah Brennan believes weight remains one of the last 'acceptable' forms of discrimination.

"The consequences people experience when they're living in a larger body are extreme and diverse," she said of the stigma around weight.

"There are massive impacts on quality of life and the consequences of that is people are actually prepared to give up years of their life in order to live free of that impairment which is amazing."

Research Dr Brennan undertook with SBS' What does Australia really think about... found 42 per cent of obese people had experienced harassment, 38 per cent of people agreed obese bodies were disgusting and 37 per cent thought it was OK to tell someone to lose weight.

55 per cent of people thought obese people were less likely to be as highly motivated as thinner counterparts and 35 per cent believed obese people were less likely to be successful.

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These views don't just hurt people mentally, but physically, says Dr Brennan.

"More and more research is showing lots of the things we thought were a direct impact of being heavier are perhaps more likely to be the impact of the stigma associated with being heavier," she said.

"We know that people who are heavier experience discrimination across multiple settings - family and friends, workplaces, education and unfortunately most sadly health settings as well. That has direct impacts on their mental health and more and more research shows also physical health.

"That kind of stigmatisation is linked to stress which causes physical consequences which then causes physical conditions. So some of the things we always thought of as a direct impact of being heavier may actually be a result of the stigma associated with the weight rather than the weight itself."

Dr Brennan was born in Yarrawonga and grew up in Howlong and Albury. She currently works at LaTrobe University in Wodonga and is a Clinical, Health, Educational and Developmental Psychologist who leads the Body Image, Eating and Weight Clinical Research Team.

Dr Brennan hopes the TV show will lead people to examine their own prejudices and help change the public's perception on weight.

"Hopefully it creates an awareness of the extent of weight stigma and the genuine and severe impacts weight stigma can have on people," she said.

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Episode host and former Australian Idol contestant Casey Donovan hopes the show prompts discussion.

"I want people to talk. I want people to listen," she said. "I want people to understand that people of all different shapes and sizes have struggles. And I want people to know that they are enough. At the end of the day, you are enough."

Dr Brennan hopes the program inspires up-and-coming researchers or clinicians to consider the field. She is the first psychologist at the Wodonga campus with a focus on postgraduate and clinical training which means students can now become registered psychologists in the area.

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