America’s war on the “obesity epidemic” is intensifying stigmatization of people with heavy and obese bodies. Many lay individuals and health professionals believe that “a little stigma is a good thing’ – i.e. that stigmatizing carrying excess weight motivates people to engage in healthier eating habits and promotes weight loss. I will review a growing body of research showing that this strategy is not only ineffective, but is backfiring. Experiencing or anticipating being stigmatized based on one’s weight increases physiological stress, undermines self-regulation, compromises psychological health, and increases motivations to avoid stigma and escape stigma that have negative health implications. Furthermore, experiencing weight-based stigma leads to weight gain and poorer physical health outcomes, controlling for actual body weight.