Impact of Weight Stigma on Overall Health and Wellbeing of People

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Part 1

Introduction

Negative attitudes towards obese people are becoming a common phenomenon in Western society. Various harmful weight-based stereotypes meted out against overweight, or obese individuals such as they are lazy, unsuccessful, unintelligent, lack self-discipline, possess poor willpower, are compliant to weight loss treatments and are weak-willed (Brochu, 2020). The stereotypes that are formulated by people contribute to the formation of stigma, or discrimination against obese individuals in different settings such as, their workplace, educational institutions, and health facilities. An important point to note is that, while stigma and discrimination have been determined to be a threat to the fundamental values of inclusion and equality in society, weight stigma is tolerated and promoted (Wang et al., 2020). The reason why people with weight issues are stigmatized is that it is assumed that they have a low form of willpower, and discriminating against them, it will motivate them to work on themselves to reduce weight.

Discrimination against people who have weight issues is prevalent in both the traditional and digital media, mainly in the form of ‘fat-shaming.’ the direct consequence of this form of discrimination is that it contributes to the victims becoming socially isolated, and receiving poor social support from their friends and family members. In addition to that, it can lead to weight-teasing and bullying, which will lead to stressful experiences (Hilbert et al., 2013). Given these circumstances, weight stigma may directly contribute to the development of physical and mental health issues for the victims. 

Association between Weight Stigma, Physical and Mental Health

Weight stigma is likely to contribute negatively to an individual’s physical and psychological health. It is a significant risk factor for conditions such as depression, development of low self-esteem, and body dissatisfaction. In addition to that, victims of weight stigmatization are highly likely to engage in a variety of practices such as binge eating, and an increased risk of eating disorder symptoms, which will ultimately affect their physical and psychological health. An important point to note is that victims of weight stigma are highly likely to experience this treatment from the people they know such as their family members, friends, and even physicians that they consult, or who treat them when they are sick. 

The weight-related stigma is a determinant in the development of the bio-psychosocial health outcomes of individuals. It can contribute to the adverse short- and long-term physical and psychological health effects for both children and adolescents. In terms of physical health, the study by Papadopoulos and Brennan showed that there was a negative association between weight stigma and poor treatment compliance, and quality of life. This was supported by a study that was conducted by Tomiyama et al. (2018), the study findings suggested that when people consider themselves to be overweight, even when they have a normal BMI, it is negatively associated with biological markers of poor health such as unhealthy levels of blood pressure, HDL cholesterol, C-reactive protein, and HbA1c levels. The researchers also found out that this trend can be inter-generational(Thiel et al., 2020). This means that the children who are perceived to be overweight by their parents are at a greater risk of experiencing excess weight gain when growing up, and it can adversely affect their overall physical health. 

There is a positive correlation between weight stigma, physical and psychological problems. The greater the perceived weight discrimination actions, the worse the mental problems of the targeted individual. According to a study that was conducted by Wu and Berry (2018), they established that weight stigma contributed to the development of other conditions such as obesity, increased stress level, eating disorders, increased risk of contracting diabetes, anxiety, depression, body dissatisfaction and it contributed negatively to the overall self-esteem of the individual. The correlation between weight stigma and psychological problems was supported by the study by Papadopolous and Brennan (2015) whose study findings suggested that weight stigma can lead to mental health, anxiety, antisocial behavior, substance abuse as coping strategy measures, and perceived stress for the victims. 

In the United States, the study by Tomiyama et al. (2015) found out that people who consider themselves being targets of discrimination because of their weight are 2.5 times as likely to experience mood and anxiety disorder than is the case for the people who do not feel that they are exposed to such forms of stigmatization. The findings of these two studies can be interpreted to mean that there is a positive relationship between weight stigma and deterioration of both physical and mental health. 

Weight stigma can also affect the quality of care that overweight patients receive in a healthcare facility (Himmelstein et al., 2018). Their quality of care is determined to be lower than those people who are perceived to have a ‘normal’ BMI, and this is highly likely to contribute to the higher rates of poor health among this demographic (Hunger et al., 2020). An important point to note is that, concerning the level of quality of care, and the medical decision-making process, individuals with a high level of weight have a high likelihood of being diagnosed with endometrial and ovarian cancer. 

Despite their higher risk than other demographic of patients, a majority of medical practitioners, or physicians demonstrate a high level of reluctance in terms of performing these pelvic exams to this group of patients. In addition to that, for the higher BMI patients, they have reported that the medical practitioners spend significantly less time with them in comparison with the patients who have lower BMI measures (Tomiyama et al., 2018). Furthermore, patients who have a high BMI level, are highly unlikely to be provided with vital health information, which can be crucial to their overall well-being. The result of this is that a majority of the patients who are considered to have a high BMI are likely to feel that they are ignored, and mistreated in the clinical setting. 

Tomiyama et al. (2018) noted that people with a high BMI are three times as likely to report that they were not accorded proper medical care than is the case for individuals who have been determined to have a normal BMI. The reason for this is that they are considered to be less intelligent, and lazy than the patients who have a normal BMI. Such scenarios are highly likely to contribute to poor health outcomes both in the short- and long-term scenarios of these patients because they are less likely to seek medical care. After all, they feel that they will not be provided with proper care (O’Brien et al., 2016). In addition to that, they may also avoid being in a clinical setting because they are afraid that they will be exposed to one form, or another of stigmatization because of their weight. 

Reducing the Impact of Weight Stigma on Health

The evidence presented in this paper has proven that weight stigma can contribute negatively to an individual’s physical and psychological health. There are various strategies that can be utilized to reduce the impact of this form of discrimination on the victims. The following are some of the bias reduction strategies that can be implemented to reduce the impact of weight stigma on overweight and obese individuals: conducting workplace harassment training to address weight bias in this setting, improving public education to address the complex causes of obesity, implementing anti-bullying policies in learning institutions, and providing effective training on healthcare providers to be more respectful to patients who have obesity issues.

In terms of workplace harassment training, employees in different organizations will be assisted to have a better understanding of all the causes of being overweight and obese. They will also be provided with information on how this form of discrimination affects their colleagues and the best approaches to avoid stigmatizing their work colleagues either directly, or indirectly. Obese children in schools are exposed to physical, and verbal bullying because of their weight issues. There is the need to implement anti-bullying policies to protect the affected children from these scenarios. In addition to that, teachers and other forms of authorities in the learning institutions should be on the lookout to ensure that there is no bullying that is happening under their watch. In the event that a bullying case is reported to them, they should take relevant action to discourage the event from happening again in the future. Finally, it was noted that healthcare practitioners are some of the biggest perpetrators when it comes to stigmatizing overweight and obese individuals. They need to be subjected to training to ensure that they are aware of the impact of their actions on the physical and mental health of their patients who have weight issues.

Conclusion

Weight stigmatization affects both the physical and psychological health of people who perceive themselves to be overweight, or obese. An important point to note is that an individual does not need to have a high BMI to feel victimized by weight stigmatization. As long as a person feels that they are the ones being targeted, it will be enough for them to be susceptible to these consequences. Weight discrimination is mainly meted out by the victims’ close unit such as family members, friends, and even health practitioners. In particular, the health practitioners may contribute negatively to both the physical and psychological health of the patients. The reason for this is that they are less likely to examine them as they would ‘normal’ people. In addition to that, they are less likely to provide them with adequate advice because they assume that they are less intelligent, thirdly they may increase their stress levels to the point that they engage in binge eating, and finally may contribute to them avoiding seeking medical services. On the other hand, the psychological effects of weight stigmatization are that it can contribute to anxiety, depression, increased stress, and low self-esteem. In addition to that, a person can experience low self-worth to the point that they want to commit suicide. Overweight or obese people should not be considered lazy, or unintelligent, and weight stigmatization should not be supported or propagated in the United States. 

Part 2

Topic

Investigation of Whether Experiencing Weight Stigma Undermines Efforts to Engage in Healthy Eating

Aim

Examine the relationship between the perceived weight stigma, binge eating disorder, and further weight gain for the study participants, to determine the effect of stress in the mediation of the association between the weight stigma and eating behaviors. 

Method

In this study, the researcher will select a group of research participants, most preferably teenagers and young adults. The inclusion age criteria of the respondents of this study will be 16-24 years. The researcher will then design a questionnaire, which will involve questions on different aspects such as weight stigma, different eating behaviors such as uncontrolled eating, cognitive restraint, and emotional eating. There will also be questions on the stress levels of the patients. Data analysis will be conducted using the SPSS, and specific methods such as linear regression analysis will be applied by the researcher to assess the research results concerning the study objectives. The researcher will be intended to determine the effects of stress from weight stigma activities and eating behaviors. Although the study will focus on individuals who are considered overweight and obese based on the overall BMI, it will include people who are considered to have a normal- and even those who are underweight will be used as controls in this study. 

Expected Findings 

The study findings will highly likely indicate that the way people perceive themselves and not weight gain is what will most probably contribute to individuals becoming stressed and resulting in people engaging in unhealthy eating practices. An important point to note is that, even people who are considered to have a normal BMI, or those who are underweight risk suffering the consequences of weight stigmatization, if they hold the perception that specific comments are targeting them. The expected findings of this study are supported by studies such as Tomiyama who noted that it is not the physical BMI, which matters concerning weight discrimination, but by the perceptions that people have concerning their individual weights. These findings were also supported by O’Brien who noted that weight bias internalization mediated the relationship between weight stigma and subsequently disordered eating. This means that, if a person feels that they are overweight, even when they are not, they are susceptible to weight discrimination measures. 

References

Brochu, P. M. (2020). Weight stigma as a risk factor for suicidality. International Journal of Obesity, 44(10), 1979-1980. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-020-0632-5Hilbert, A., Braehler, E., Haeuser, W., & Zenger, M. (2013). Weight bias internalization, core self-evaluation, and health in overweight and obese persons. Obesity, 22(1), 79-85. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.20561Himmelstein, M. S., Puhl, R. M., & Quinn, D. M. (2018). Weight stigma and health: The mediating role of coping responses. Health Psychology, 37(2), 139-147. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000575O’Brien, K. S., Latner, J. D., Puhl, R. M., Vartanian, L. R., Giles, C., Griva, K., & Carter, A. (2016). The relationship between weight stigma and eating behavior is explained by weight bias internalization and psychological distress. Appetite, 102, 70-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.02.032Papadopoulos, S., & Brennan, L. (2015). Correlates of weight stigma in adults with overweight and obesity: A systematic literature review. Obesity, 23(9), 1743-1760. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.21187Salwen, J. K., Hymowitz, G. F., Bannon, S. M., & O’Leary, K. D. (2015). Weight-related abuse: Perceived emotional impact and the effect on disordered eating. Child Abuse & Neglect, 45, 163-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.12.005Thiel, A., John, J., Carl, J., & Thedinga, H. (2020). Weight stigma experiences and physical (In)activity: A biographical analysis. Obesity Facts, 13(3), 386-402. https://doi.org/10.1159/000507936Tomiyama, A. J., Carr, D., Granberg, E. M., Major, B., Robinson, E., Sutin, A. R., & Brewis, A. (2018). How and why weight stigma drives the obesity ‘epidemic’ and harms health. BMC Medicine, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-018-1116-5Wang, Z., Wang, B., Hu, Y., Cheng, L., Zhang, S., Chen, Y., & Li, R. (2020). Relationships among weight stigma, eating behaviors and stress in adolescents in Wuhan, China. Global Health Research and Policy, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41256-020-00138-3Wu, Y., & Berry, D. C. (2017). Impact of weight stigma on physiological and psychological health outcomes for overweight and obese adults: A systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 74(5), 1030-1042. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13511