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Weight stigma and its impact on paediatric care
Carl J Palad1, Siddharth Yarlagadda2, Fatima Cody Stanford3,4
1New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York.
Insights
Weight stigma negatively impacts children's health, contributing to the obesity epidemic. Addressing weight-based teasing and bullying is crucial for improving youth well-being and optimizing obesity treatment guidelines.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Obesity Research
- Stigma Studies
Background:
- Childhood obesity prevalence is at an all-time high in the USA (18.5% for ages 2-19).
- Weight stigma has increased concurrently with rising obesity rates, affecting diverse populations.
- Weight stigma is a significant factor in the obesity epidemic, impacting physical, behavioral, and psychological health.
Purpose of the Study:
- Evaluate current research on weight stigmatization.
- Acknowledge the detrimental health effects of weight stigma on children.
- Provide insights for optimizing guidelines for overweight and obese individuals.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of current research findings.
- Analysis of the impact of weight stigma on the pediatric population.
- Identification of sources and consequences of weight stigma.
Main Results:
- Weight stigma contributes to adverse physical, behavioral, and psychological health outcomes.
- Internalized weight stigma reduces quality of life.
- Stigma originates from peers, family, educators, media, and healthcare professionals.
Conclusions:
- Weight stigma exacerbates the obesity epidemic and negatively affects pediatric health.
- Developing prevention and treatment strategies for weight stigma is essential.
- Optimizing guidelines is necessary to improve care for individuals with overweight and obesity.
Purpose Of Review:
This review aims to evaluate current research findings relevant to weight stigmatization, to acknowledge the deleterious impact it has on the health of the paediatric population and to provide insight to optimize future guidelines for the treatment of individuals with overweight and obesity.
Recent Findings:
Obesity prevalence continues to rise in the USA with estimates in children from ages 2-19 years of 18.5%, an all-time high. With the increase in obesity, there has been a concomitant increase in weight stigma, which affects both youth and general population across varied levels of socioeconomic status and body sizes.
Summary:
Weight stigma is a contributing phenomenon to the current obesity epidemic, as individuals with stigmatized experiences (weight-based teasing, bullying, victimization) have increased risks for acquiring adverse health outcomes that encompass the physical, behavioural and psychological. Weight stigma can also lead affected individuals to internalize such experiences which decrease their overall quality of life. Sources of stigma may come from peers, family, educators, media, as well as healthcare professionals, as highlighted in this review. Efforts to establish prevention and treatment strategies for weight stigma may generate further traction to help improve global obesity rates. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
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