A Call to Action: Addressing Medical School as a Source of Weight Stigma Requires Transformative Change

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Medical Education
• Sociology

Background:

• Weight stigma, negative attitudes towards higher body weight, is a significant public health issue.
• The healthcare system is a common source of weight stigma, affecting patient care and outcomes.
• Weight stigma is a socially acceptable bias, challenging to address within the medical field.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically examine how body weight is presented in medical school curricula.
• To identify explicit and implicit weight stigma within medical training.
• To develop a roadmap for a curriculum that combats weight stigma and promotes inclusive care.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of medical school curriculum content related to body weight.
• Identification of weight stigma in training experiences.
• Development of strategies to integrate anti-stigma education.

Main Results:

• Medical school curricula often position body weight problematically.
• Weight stigma is embedded within the training experiences of future physicians.
• A roadmap was developed to guide curriculum reform.

Conclusions:

• Medical education must actively address weight stigma to foster patient-centered care.
• Curriculum reform is essential to equip physicians to treat patients of all sizes inclusively.
• Interrogating and restructuring medical training can mitigate weight stigma's impact.