Weight stigma and fat phobia in Poland – attitudes towards people living with obesity and the level of knowledge about obesity among the social media internet respondents and medical professionals

Frontiers in Nutrition

Nutrition

Agnieszka Mastalerz-Migas¹  Mateusz Babicki²  Alicja Baska³  Karolina Kłoda⁴  Karolina Świder⁵ 

[1] Department of Family Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland;Department of Family Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland;Head of the Scientific Section of the Polish Society of Family Medicine, Wroclaw, Poland;Department of Lifestyle Medicine, School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland;Polish Society of Lifestyle Medicine, Warsaw, Poland;Head of the Scientific Section of the Polish Society of Family Medicine, Wroclaw, Poland;MEDFIT Karolina Kłoda, Szczecin, Poland;NZOZ Biogenes, Wroclaw, Poland;

关键词: social media;    fat phobia;    fat phobia scale;    FPS;    obesity;    stigma;    healthcare professionals;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnut.2023.1287783

 received in 2023-09-02, accepted in 2023-09-27,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionObesity often subjects individuals to stigmatization, impacting self-esteem, contributing to depression, social isolation, and even exacerbating weight gain. Our research aimed to evaluate weight stigma, fat phobia, their expressions, and obesity-related knowledge among social media internet respondents and medical practitioners in Poland.MethodsConducted through Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI), our study employed the Fat Phobia Scale (FPS) and tailored questions, analyzing 1705 questionnaires.ResultsThe respondents averaged a score of 3.60  ±  0.62 on the FPS. Interestingly, men exhibited higher stigma levels than women. Variables like BMI, residency, and interactions with people having obesity did not significantly impact stigma levels. Approximately 74.0% of respondents found individuals with obesity less attractive than those with normal weight, while 32.2% identified obesity as a cause of shame. Only 69.1% were aware of the BMI-based obesity diagnosis criterion.ConclusionGiven limited knowledge of Poland’s weight stigma landscape, our research yields crucial insights for shaping social campaigns and enhancing educational initiatives in obesity management for healthcare professionals. Further studies will be instrumental in addressing patient and practitioner needs effectively.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Świder, Baska, Babicki, Mastalerz-Migas and Kłoda.