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Abstract
Obesity is one of the leading
epidemics worldwide. Despite
its prevalence, individuals
with obesity often face significant
weight bias and discrimination
across various settings. Bias
can manifest in various forms,
including teasing, bullying,
unfair treatment,disrespect,
and misjudgment. It affects
people of all ages, regardless
of gender, race, or educational
background. The consequences
of obesity stigma are enormous.
It impacts people with obesity
at the socioeconomic level,
psychologically and physically,
which eventually harms their
health. In healthcare, obesity
stigmatization leads to reduced
and delayed access to health
services and a lower quality
of care. Many strategies and
recommendations have been
proposed to reduce and hopefully
end obesity and weight stigma.
In
this review, we discuss definitions,
prevalence, biases among healthcare
providers, perceptions of
bias among people with obesity,
the consequences of stigma,
and recommended strategies
to minimize obesity stigmatization
in healthcare.
Keywords:
obesity stigma, weight bias,
weight discrimination, weight
stigma
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