Negative Perceptions To Obese People Even Among Diet Professionals

the majority of people have negative perceptions of excess weight

Studies done by Yale University in America have quantified the stigma that people attach to overweight and obese individuals. The research which evaluated the perceptions that groups of people have included company bosses, teachers, doctors and nurses as well as friends, family and lovers. They even saw that there was a considerable amount of negative stigmatisation to obese individuals from diet professionals.

The research which involved 182 students of diet and nutrition saw that they were likely to have a negative weight bias and fat phobia linked to the body mass index of the patient. Among some of the negative stereotypes that these students had were that they believed that overweight and obese people were insecure, lazy, had very little willpower and will also less likely to follow treatment options suggested to them compared to those with lower BMI’s.

The researchers felt that the attitude of dieticians to the overweight and obese was particularly important to study because they tended to have far more interaction with obese people than most. The researchers said that the findings were “worrisome” due to the fact that the quality of the patient care may be lower if negative stereotypes are brought into play. They said that dieticians and health care professionals should be trained not to associate obesity with negative perceptions and that only two percent of the students interviewed had positive or neutral attitudes towards obese people. Over 40 percent reckoned that obese people are self indulgent and lazy.

There’s no doubt that the majority of people have negative perceptions of excess weight but what the study does is show that even those who are meant to be helping you lose weight don’t have much faith in you either. This is quite an eye opener and should serve as a warning to those with a weight problem that if they really want to be judged on their full potential they need to lose weight. The world is a very unfair place and this research proves it.

The study was made public in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.