Weight loss advice from a healthcare provider is motivating, but it is also stigmatizing: an experimental, scenario-based approach.

This article examines the immediate psychological effects of receiving weight loss advice from primary care providers (PCPs) on higher-weight adults (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²). Using a randomized, scenario-based experiment with 294 participants, the study found that weight loss advice increased motivation to improve eating behaviors but also heightened weight-based identity threat, characterized by lower positive affect, higher negative affect, and greater weight-related distress. The advice did not significantly affect motivation for physical activity, perceptions of provider empathy, or willingness to engage with healthcare in the future. These findings highlight a dual impact of standard PCP weight loss counseling—simultaneously motivating and stigmatizing—and suggest the need for further research to develop strategies that encourage healthy behaviors without perpetuating weight stigma.