More on weight stigma

After writing a post on weight stigma in the media last week, and after reading an interesting article written by Pont et al. (2017) on weight stigma in children and adolescents , I thought it may be good to write a bit more on the subject in order to give readers more of an idea of what weight stigma is and the impacts that it can have.

Obesity is widespread and so is weight stigma

In the UK as well as in many other countries including the US, levels of obesity are high and do not seem to be abating. Yet many people and places continue to discriminate against those with extra weight. What is more, despite extensive efforts being conducted to help people lose weight in order to reach and maintain a healthy weight, many of the efforts do not consider weight stigmatization and discrimination despite their inevitable detrimental impact on weight loss.

Weight stigma is commonplace and has the potential to cause serious harm.

Weight stigma has been defined as 'the societal devaluation of a person because he or she has overweight or obesity'. How stigma is presented can vary but often includes stereotypes that individuals with obesity are lazy, unmotivated, or lacking in willpower and discipline. Unlike stigma of other health conditions, weight stigma is tolerated by society because of the assumption that being overweight is the result of gluttony and laziness and thus by shaming an individual who is overweight they will be encouraged to lose weight.

Weight stigma is not helpful. It does not motivate positive change.

Instead stigma can reduce an individuals quality of life and can increase the complexities associated with carrying extra weight. Stigma can lead to the avoidance of health care providers- for fear of being stigmatized there, and can also lead to the increase of binge eating behavior as well as social isolation. Stigma can therefore make healthy behavior change even harder.

Healthcare providers are no better- they are also guilty of weight stigma.

Despite the fact that health care providers and researchers are always looking for ways to help people lose weight in order to reduce the obesity epidemic, many of these professionals stigmatize people with overweight and obesity.

To reduce weight stigma in research and in healthcare, non-biased language and behaviors must be encouraged in these settings. Professionals must also be made aware of the impact of weight stigma on patients with overweight and obesity and must aim to be empowering in their approach to treatment.

Weight stigma happens in schools and workplaces.

Children as young as 4 engage in stigmatizing conversations and behaviours. Such stigmatization is also apparent among teachers, the media and even continues a home from other family members. In order to reduce stigmatization in society, advocacy and training sessions need to be carried out. Especially since children and young people are shaped so massively by the environment in which they grow up in, and by their peer groups. It is also important to consider the impact of weight stigma in the home, and encourage parents to avoid the use of stigmatizing language.

Reductions in weight stigma are essential in order to improve the success of weight loss interventions and to improve the quality of life with those with overweight and obesity. Particularly in children and young people since Schwimmer et al, revealed that children and adolescents with severe obesity (who also experienced weight stigma at some stage) had quality-of-life scores that were worse than age-matched children who had cancer- a very scary statistic.

To conclude, in order to reduce levels of overweight and obesity we must all work to best support people in their quest to make healthy changes in 2018. To do so it is essential that researchers, health care providers and others in society are aware of weight stigma, and are able to recognize, address, and advocate against such stigma in all settings.

What will you do to stamp out stigma in your school, workplace or at home?