Educate medics about weight stigma to reduce UK’s obesity rate

To help tackle the UK's obesity crisis, we must better educate medical professionals on weight stigma, according to the conclusions of a large-scale review led by UCL researchers. It is widely accepted that people living with obesity are negatively affected by weight stigma, often referred to as weight-blaming; this is a form of discrimination, across all settings, based on stereotypes and prejudices about people who are either obese or overweight. In healthcare, the negative biases associated with weight stigma are known to limit both access to health services and treatments. This has recently been the focus of a joint international consensus statement, published in  Nature *, aiming to end weight stigma in healthcare globally. Published in  Obesity Reviews , researchers at UCL conducted a review to evaluate weight stigma reduction strategies in healthcare practice and healthcare education, with a view to provide recommendations for interventions, learning, and research. Lead author, Dr Anastasia Kalea (UCL Division of Medicine) said: "Sadly healthcare, including general practice, is one of the most common settings for weight stigmatisation and we know this acts as a barrier to the services and treatments that can help people manage weight. "A common misconception among medics and others, is that obesity is caused by factors within a person's control, focusing on diet and exercise without recognition of, for instance, social and environmental determinants.