Changing the global obesity narrative to recognize and reduce weight stigma: A position statement from the World Obesity Federation

Nutter S 1 , Eggerichs LA 2 , Nagpal TS 3 , Ramos Salas X 4 , Chin Chea C 5 , Saiful S 6 Show all authors , Ralston J 6 , Barata-Cavalcanti O 6 , Batz C 7 , Baur LA 8 , Birney S 9 , Bryant S 10 , Buse K 11 , Cardel MI 12 , Chugh A 13 , Cuevas A 14 , Farmer M 15 , Ibrahim A 16 , Kataria I 17 , Kotz C 18 , Kyle T 19 , le Brocq S 20 , Mooney V 21 , Mullen C 22 , Nadglowski J 23 , Neveux M 6 , Papapietro K 24 , Powis J 6 , Puhl RM 25 , Rea Ruanova B 26 , Saunders JF 27 , Stanford FC 28 , Stephen O 29 , Tham KW 30 , Urudinachi A 31 , Vejar-Renteria L 32 , Walwyn D 33 , Wilding J 6 , Yusop S 34

Affiliations 

  • 1 Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
  • 2 Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy at Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden
  • 3 Department of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
  • 4 Replica Communications, Kristianstad, Sweden
  • 5 Internal and Obesity Medicine, University of the West Indies School of Clinical Medicine and Research, Nassau, Bahamas
  • 6 World Obesity Federation, London, UK
  • 7 George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, Australia
  • 8 Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • 9 Irish Coalition for People Living with Obesity, Dublin, Ireland
  • 10 European Association for the Study of Obesity, Teddington, UK
  • 11 George Institute for Global Health, Imperial College London, London, UK
  • 12 WW International, Inc., Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA
  • 13 Hriday, New Delhi, India
  • 14 Advanced Center for Metabolic Medicine and Nutrition (CAMMYN), Santiago, Chile
  • 15 Advancing Synergy, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  • 16 Educational Consultant and Patient Advocate, Kuwait City, Kuwait
  • 17 Center for Global Noncommunicable Diseases, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
  • 18 Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of Minnesota, and the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Care, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
  • 19 ConscienHealth, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
  • 20 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, London, UK
  • 21 European Coalition for People Living with Obesity, Dublin, Ireland
  • 22 Health Consumers' Council WA, Mount Lawley, Australia
  • 23 Obesity Action Coalition, Tampa, Florida, USA
  • 24 Nutrition Unit, Hospital Clínico de La Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
  • 25 Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
  • 26 Gastrobariatrica Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
  • 27 Psychology Convening Group, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, New Jersey, USA
  • 28 Neuroendocrine Unit, Pediatric Endocrinology, Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  • 29 Global Health Medicine And Health, Faculty of Biology, University Of Manchester, Manchester, UK
  • 30 Singapore Association for the Study of Obesity, Singapore
  • 31 Obesity Society of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria
  • 32 Nutrition and Health Research Center, National Institute of Public Health Mexico, Cuernavaca, Mexico
  • 33 Healthy Caribbean Coalition, Bridgetown, Barbados
  • 34 Andrea Bariatric Surgery, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
Obes Rev, 2024 Jan;25(1):e13642.
PMID: 37846179 DOI: 10.1111/obr.13642

Abstract

Weight stigma, defined as pervasive misconceptions and stereotypes associated with higher body weight, is both a social determinant of health and a human rights issue. It is imperative to consider how weight stigma may be impeding health promotion efforts on a global scale. The World Obesity Federation (WOF) convened a global working group of practitioners, researchers, policymakers, youth advocates, and individuals with lived experience of obesity to consider the ways that global obesity narratives may contribute to weight stigma. Specifically, the working group focused on how overall obesity narratives, food and physical activity narratives, and scientific and public-facing language may contribute to weight stigma. The impact of weight stigma across the lifespan was also considered. Taking a global perspective, nine recommendations resulted from this work for global health research and health promotion efforts that can help to reduce harmful obesity narratives, both inside and outside health contexts.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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