"FAT shaming" does not help people lose weight, experts have said.
Making overweight and obese people feel bad about their size does not encourage them to shed excess pounds - and may even make them put on more weight, researchers found.
The study, published in the journal Obesity, saw almost 3,000 UK adults monitored over a four-year period.
Experts found that the five per cent who experienced "weight discrimination" gained an average of 0.95kg over the time frame while those who did not lost an average of 0.71kg.
The researchers, from University College London (UCL), said their findings contradict the common perception that "fat shaming" helps people lose weight.
They suggested that people may "comfort eat" as a result of being discriminated against because of their weight.
"There is no justification for discriminating against people because of their weight," said lead author Dr Sarah Jackson from UCL.
"Our results show that weight discrimination does not encourage weight loss, and suggest that it may even exacerbate weight gain.
"Previous studies have found that people who experience discrimination report comfort eating. Weight discrimination has also been shown to make people feel less confident about taking part in physical activity, so they tend to avoid it."
Professor Jane Wardle, director of the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Centre at UCL, added: "Our study clearly shows that weight discrimination is part of the obesity problem and not the solution."
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