Level

Manifestations

Examples

Interpersonal

Peer bullying, parental/teacher critical comments

Name-calling, exclusion, weight-focused conversations

Institutional

Discrimination in education, healthcare, employment

BMI screening, short medical visits, hiring bias

Self-directed

Internalized bias, body shame, self-criticism

Self-blame, worthlessness, believing stereotypes

Digital

Thin-ideal content, cyberbullying, algorithmic bias

“Fitspiration” posts, body shaming, targeted ads