The weight-inclusive vs. weight-normative approach to health: Evaluating the evidence for prioritizing well-being over weight

Using an ethical lens, this review evaluates two methods of working within patient care and public health: the weight-normative approach (emphasis on weight and weight loss when defining health and well-being) and the weight-inclusive approach (emphasis on viewing health and well-being as multifaceted while directing efforts toward improving health access and reducing weight stigma). Data reveal that the weight-normative approach is not effective for most people because of high rates of weight regain and cycling from weight loss interventions, which are linked to adverse health and well-being. Its predominant focus on weight may also foster stigma in health care and society, and data show that weight stigma is also linked to adverse health and well-being. In contrast, data support a weight-inclusive approach, which is included in models such as Health at Every Size for improving physical (e.g., blood pressure), behavioral (e.g., binge eating), and psychological (e.g., depression) indices, as well as acceptability of public health messages. Therefore, the weight-inclusive approach upholds nonmaleficience and beneficience, whereas the weight-normative approach does not. We offer a theoretical framework that organizes the research included in this review and discuss how it can guide research efforts and help health professionals intervene with their patients and community

Fighting for a (wide enough) seat at the table: weight stigma in law and policy

Few jurisdictions provide legal protection against discrimination on the basis of weight despite evidence of pervasive inequalities faced by fat individuals in employment, healthcare, education, and other domains. Yet, in the last two decades, advocacy efforts in several countries aimed to remedy this situation have been largely unsuccessful. We present a cross-national conceptual analysis of three significant anti-discrimination developments regarding weight in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Iceland, respectively, to highlight how the creation, implementation, and enforcement of legal and policy mechanisms that prohibit weight discrimination ironically suffer under the very burden of deeply rooted structural stigmas against fatness and fat bodies that such efforts seek to counter. However, drawing on research around policy change in response to other social movements, we conclude that we may be at a time where broad-ranging policy change could become a reality

Anti-fat prejudice reduction: a review of published studies

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldPrejudice against those who are perceived as 'fat' or obese (anti-fat prejudice) is rife, increasing, and associated with negative outcomes for those targeted for such treatment. The present review sought to identify and describe published research on interventions to reduce anti-fat prejudice. A systematic search of relevant databases (e.g. PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus) found 16 published studies that had sought to reduce anti-fat prejudice. Most notable was the lack of research on interventions for reducing anti-fat prejudice. Methodological problems that limit the interpretability of results were identified in the majority of studies found. Interventions employing more rigorous experimental designs provided at best mixed evidence for effectiveness. Although several studies reported changes in beliefs and knowledge about the causes of obesity, reductions in anti-fat prejudice did not typically accompany these changes. Anti-fat prejudice interventions adopting social norm- and social consensus-based approaches appear encouraging but are scarce. The lack of prejudice reduction following most interventions suggests that psychological mechanisms other than, or additional to, those being manipulated may underpin anti-fat prejudice. New directions for researching anti-fat prejudice are suggested. Given the strength of antipathy displayed toward those who are perceived as 'fat' or obese, research in this area is urgently required