References
Framing obesity: disease status, language and stigma
Abstract
The way that health professionals talk about conditions is crucial to patient-centred care. Hilda Mulrooney explains how obesity is a condition that is often framed in negative language that needs to be changed in order to improve healthcare quality in primary care
The language and images used to describe those living with obesity are often stigmatising. They can contribute to the perception that those with obesity are responsible for their own condition. Much of the rhetoric around excess weight emphasises actions that individuals can take. This ignores the complexity of how weight is gained and retained, and the roles of genetics and environmental factors. In the UK, those advocating for obesity to be recognised as a disease suggest that this may reduce levels of weight-related stigma. The use of non-stigmatising images and people-first language are recommended to help change perceptions of blame around obesity.
The European Congress on Obesity met in Glasgow between 28 April and 1 May 2019. Within a packed programme, the People First campaign was launched by the European Coalition for People living with Obesity, a pan-European, patient-led group. People First advocates patient-friendly language: ‘people with obesity’ rather than ‘obese people’. It might seem like a small difference, but it is a crucial one. Having obesity does not define the person, only one aspect of them. We do not talk about ‘cancerous people’, but ‘people with cancer’. When it comes to obesity, language matters.
Obesity is both highly prevalent and visible. Many consider it to be a disease state, and it is also a risk factor for developing other serious, long-term conditions. In the UK, over 26% of adults are now classed as having obesity and 35% classed as carrying excess weight, a total of 61.4% of the adult population (NHS Digital, 2016). One in three children in England leaving primary school are either overweight or have obesity (NHS Digital, 2018a).
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