Editorial: Obesity Stigma in Healthcare: Impacts on Policy, Practice, and Patients

Frontiers in Psychology

Stuart W. Flint¹ 

关键词: weight stigma;    healthcare;    higher weight;    anti-fat attitudes;    weight bias;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02149

学科分类：心理学（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Obesity prevalence is a global health concern. Alongside increasing awareness of the condition are concomiteted increases in reported weight stigma and discrimination toward people with obesity. Counter-intuitively, research has identified weight stigma in settings that are critical for the engagement and treatment of people with obesity, such as exercise (Robertson and Vohora, 2008; Flint and Reale, 2016), healthcare facilities (Brown and Flint, 2013), schools (Puhl and Luedicke, 2012), and workplaces (Roehling, 1999; Flint et al., 2016). The prevalence and robustness to interventions to reduce anti-fat attitudes is concerning (Flint et al., 2013) given their association with anti-fat behavior (O'Brien et al., 2008). For instance, healthcare professionals and students in training report stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs toward higher-weight people, and in some cases, withhold appropriate advice or treatment (e.g., Kristeller and Hoerr, 1997; Hebl and Xu, 2001). In addition, healthcare providers use stigmatizing terminology in consultations and other patient-practitioner meetings, with adverse effects (e.g., avoidance of healthcare settings, and compromised psychosocial wellbeing: depressed mood, anxiety, social isolation, and lower self-esteem) (e.g., Vartanian and Novak, 2011).

【 授权许可】

CC BY