And many of them are facing injustice in their workplaces, on social media, in healthcare and in their personal lives as a result of their weight.

The nation's conversation about obesity has become too simplistic, placing all the blame at the individual's feet.

But the causes of obesity are far more complex than that misleading perception offers.

We are constantly bombarded with messages that the only driver of our health is our weight, with slim considered healthy and people with higher weight deemed unhealthy.

In the worst cases, people living with obesity are dehumanised, stereotyped as lazy or gluttonous and the subjects of ridicule.

This limited approach ignores the very real and confirmed genetic, psychological, environmental, economic and social causes of obesity, as well as overlooking the changed biology of people living with obesity.

Our new Curtin-led study, in collaboration with Monash University, seeks to offer a national blueprint for changing this unfair perception of obesity.

Long-term weight change is not as simple as just adopting a healthier diet or doing more physical activity. If this simplistic advice worked, we wouldn't be witness to a global obesity pandemic.

By laying blame solely on factors within a person's control, we are worsening their health issues by lowering their motivation to exercise, increasing their chances of binge eating and forcing them to avoid healthcare altogether, due to weight stigma.

There is an urgent need to address weight stigma within public health policies, among public health researchers and across media and social media portrayals.

We are constantly shown a skewed portrayal of weight and health through fad diets, influencers, social media and the perception that being slim is the only indicator of health.

This perpetuates weight stigma and misleads people living with obesity to believe they cannot benefit from specialised and non-stigmatising medical support to improve their health.

We are calling on Australia's leading public health authorities to take the lead by committing to reducing weight stigma across all sectors of society and challenging the conventional emphasis on personal responsibility.

We recommend public health researchers engage with people living with obesity, public health practitioners promote weight-inclusive policies and new public health campaigns to help change the public perception of obesity and weight stigma.

MORE OPINION:

First, engaging individuals with lived experience is an essential step in combatting weight stigma. Researchers and practitioners need to ensure that the perspectives and priorities of those with lived experience inform future efforts to address weight stigma. This will increase the likelihood of research findings translating into meaningful public health policy recommendations that facilitate positive change in our communities.

Secondly, public health practitioners must commit to practices that are weight inclusive, and policies that may promote weight stigma should be replaced with strong policies that prohibit weight-based discrimination. Ongoing weight stigma education should exist alongside lifestyle and clinical training related to obesity to ensure healthcare professionals, including students, are mindful of and committed to reducing weight stigma in their practice.

And finally, we recommend a commitment to designing health campaigns that change the public discourse on obesity and weight stigma - this is essential to reducing weight stigma. Despite its undeniable role in promoting weight stigma, social media presents an opportunity to build public support and lobby and engage policy makers to introduce such policies that have potential to change the public discourse around weight stigma.

We can't waste more time talking about this. The time to act is now. We know enough to make a difference, starting today.

Weight stigma is a blight on public health practice and policy. Although there will be challenges, it is time for serious and concerted action to address this and we hope our perspective article offers a feasible way forward.