“Fat shaming” those who are overweight and obese does not help them in their journey to weight loss, a new study suggests.

Discrimination of weight includes being treated disrespectfully, being harassed, and receiving poor service in stores and other retail outlets.

Researchers from University College London (UCL) analyzed 2,944 overweight and obese adults for a four-year period. The researchers used data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, which includes adults aged 50 or older. Among the eligible participants, five percent reported weight discrimination. This number ranged from less than one percent of those within the “normal weight” category, up to 36 percent of those categorized as “morbidly obese.”

Lead study author Dr Sarah Jackson of UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, and colleagues sought to determine whether their hypothesis that discrimination actually hinders an overweight or obese person’s weight loss endeavors, or whether the current common perception that “fat shaming” can encourage weight loss still holds true.

The researchers found that those who were discriminated for their weight actually gained 0.95 kg over the study period. Those who were not shamed for their weight lost an average of 0.71 kg.

“There is no justification for discriminating against people because of their weight. Our results show that weight discrimination does not encourage weight loss, and suggest that it may even exacerbate weight gain,” said Jackson in a statement.

The findings of the study are published in the journal Obesity.