The British Psychological Society is calling for a language change, from ‘obese people’ to ‘people living with obesity’. But using the word obesity can reinforce rather than prevent stigma.
Fat stigma harms the health and wellbeing of fat people.
Stocky Bodies
What is it like to be a fat person in a fat-shaming world? What are the political and ideological underpinnings of the ‘obesity crisis’? Fat studies is an emerging academic field that asks such questions.
Obesity shouldn’t be about comfort zones.
Oklanika
What is obesity? Is it a disease, an illness, a risk factor, or a condition? And semantics aside, does this really matter? In 2013, the American Medical Association declared that obesity was “a disease…
Obesity is commonly regarded as one of the most significant threats to health in the developed world. It is strongly linked with cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and impaired mobility. Governments…
New findings have emerged on the impact of weight discrimination on weight gain and loss.
puuikibeach
Research published in PLOS ONE this morning has found that people who experience discrimination based on their weight are likely to gain more of it. Similarly, negative attitudes lead people who are obese…
SHARP Professor, leader of the Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, UNSW Sydney, and leader of the UNSW Node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney