Listen… and Speak: A Discussion of Weight Bias, its Intersections with Homophobia, Racism, and Misogyny, and Their Impacts on Health

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

This article is a version of the Ryley–Jeffs Memorial Lecture, delivered on 8 June 2018. It discusses weight bias and the intersections with homophobia, racism, and misogyny, and how these impact health. While the dominant discourse attests that people can lose weight and keep it off, evidence informs us that maintenance of weight loss is unlikely. Using a flawed epistemological framework, obesity has been declared a disease, and weight bias been perpetuated. Weight bias is pervasive, both in the general public and amongst health professionals, often using inappropriate tools to assess the impact of weight on health. This contributes to overlooking the life circumstances that truly cause morbidity: social determinants of health such as income, social connectedness and isolation, adverse childhood experiences, and cultural erasure. A variety of tools dietitians can use to appropriately assess health risk are provided, along with examples of actions that can be taken to reduce weight bias. Dietitians who are leading the profession in taking action against weight bias and stigma are profiled.

Related collections

Most cited references 24

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Weight bias internalization and health: a systematic review

R. L. Pearl, R M Puhl (2018)

A robust literature has documented the negative health effects of being the target of weight bias. Weight bias internalization (WBI) occurs when individuals apply negative weight stereotypes to themselves and self-derogate because of their body weight. Compared to experiences of weight bias, less is known about the relationship between WBI and mental and physical health, although more literature on this topic has emerged in recent years. The current systematic review identified 74 studies assessing the relationship between WBI and health, and interventions designed to reduce WBI and improve health. Over half of identified studies were published from 2016–2017. Results showed strong, negative relationships between WBI and mental health outcomes. Fewer studies have examined the relationship between WBI and physical health, and results were less consistent. Key directions for future research are highlighted, including the need for prospective and experimental studies with greater sample diversity.

0 comments Cited 167 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Weight bias among health professionals specializing in obesity.

Jana Schwartz, Kelly D. Brownell, Steven N. Blair … (2003)

To determine the level of anti-fat bias in health professionals specializing in obesity and identify personal characteristics that correlate with both implicit and explicit bias. The Implicit Associations Test (IAT) and a self-report questionnaire assessing explicit attitudes, personal experiences with obesity, and demographic characteristics was administered to clinicians and researchers attending the opening session of an international obesity conference (N = 389). The IAT was used to assess overall implicit weight bias (associating "obese people" and "thin people" with "good" vs. "bad") and three ranges of stereotypes: lazy-motivated, smart-stupid, and valuable-worthless. The questionnaire assessed explicit bias on the same dimensions, along with personal and professional experiences with obesity. Health professionals exhibited a significant pro-thin, anti-fat implicit bias on the IAT. In addition, the subjects significantly endorsed the implicit stereotypes of lazy, stupid, and worthless using the IAT. Level of bias was associated with several personal characteristics. Characteristics significantly predictive of lower levels of implicit anti-fat bias include being male, older, having a positive emotional outlook on life, weighing more, having friends who are obese, and indicating an understanding of the experience of obesity. Even professionals whose careers emphasize research or the clinical management of obesity show very strong weight bias, indicating pervasive and powerful stigma. Understanding the extent of anti-fat bias and the personal characteristics associated with it will aid in developing intervention strategies to ameliorate these damaging attitudes.