Women are sharing #FatSideStories to show how people react to their weight

Overweight women around the world have been taking to Twitter to talk about the reactions they've experienced to their bodies - and the outcome is heartbreaking.

First inspired by a tweet from the account @yrfatfriend, which implored 'fellow fats' to open up about their experiences with dating, the thread has since become a conversation about how being fat has affected almost every area of their lives.

Many of the initial tweets were about relationships as suggested, with stories ranging from comments from husbands to negative responses on first dates. One woman explained that she'd been texting a man for two weeks, and when they met, his only words were 'You didn't say you were fat!'

The discussion then quickly extended to remarks from family members, particularly mothers who have knocked their daughter's confidence with constant jibes about their size.

One contributor shared the story of her pregnancy, saying that people told her it was 'irresponsible' to have a child because of her weight.

Eating was another common theme throughout the thread, particularly in public, where women said that they'd felt particularly judged for their choices, even on special occasions.

Perhaps the most concerning stories were women who had avoided their doctors for fear of being criticised for their size, or experienced extreme weight bias when they had attended appointments, leading to other health concerns being missed.

Many said that they felt their weight had put them off longer-term life goals like travel, and impacted their success in the workplace.

Ladies taking part in the thread also reported that even when given a compliment, it felt backhanded, as though their weight was an implicit negative amidst the positive words like 'beautiful'.

And if each woman had a penny for every time she'd been told 'but you have such a pretty face'...

Can you relate to any of the experiences from the #FatSideStories hashtag? Or do you have a story of your own you'd like to contribute? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.