Joint international consensus statement for ending stigma of obesity

• Published in: Nature medicine Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 485 - 497
• Main Authors: Rubino, Francesco, Puhl, Rebecca M., Cummings, David E., Eckel, Robert H., Ryan, Donna H., Mechanick, Jeffrey I., Nadglowski, Joe, Ramos Salas, Ximena, Schauer, Phillip R., Twenefour, Douglas, Apovian, Caroline M., Aronne, Louis J., Batterham, Rachel L., Berthoud, Hans-Rudolph, Boza, Camilo, Busetto, Luca, Dicker, Dror, De Groot, Mary, Eisenberg, Daniel, Flint, Stuart W., Huang, Terry T., Kaplan, Lee M., Kirwan, John P., Korner, Judith, Kyle, Ted K., Laferrère, Blandine, le Roux, Carel W., McIver, LaShawn, Mingrone, Geltrude, Nece, Patricia, Reid, Tirissa J., Rogers, Ann M., Rosenbaum, Michael, Seeley, Randy J., Torres, Antonio J., Dixon, John B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Nature Publishing Group US 01.04.2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/163/2743/137; 692/163/2743/2037; 692/163/2743/393; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Body Weight - physiology; Cancer Research; Consensus; Consensus Statement; Control; Health care; Humans; Infectious Diseases; International Cooperation; Metabolic Diseases; Molecular Medicine; Neurosciences; Obesity; Obesity - psychology; Obesity - therapy; Organizations; Overweight persons; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Public health; Social aspects; Social Stigma; Stigma; Stigma (Social psychology); Universities - organization & administration; Universities - standards; Weight; Weight Prejudice - prevention & control; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 1078-8956; 1546-170X; 1546-170X
• DOI: 10.1038/s41591-020-0803-x

People with obesity commonly face a pervasive, resilient form of social stigma. They are often subject to discrimination in the workplace as well as in educational and healthcare settings. Research indicates that weight stigma can cause physical and psychological harm, and that affected individuals are less likely to receive adequate care. For these reasons, weight stigma damages health, undermines human and social rights, and is unacceptable in modern societies. To inform healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the public about this issue, a multidisciplinary group of international experts, including representatives of scientific organizations, reviewed available evidence on the causes and harms of weight stigma and, using a modified Delphi process, developed a joint consensus statement with recommendations to eliminate weight bias. Academic institutions, professional organizations, media, public-health authorities, and governments should encourage education about weight stigma to facilitate a new public narrative about obesity, coherent with modern scientific knowledge.