From
StayCurrentMD
Weight Bias: Child & Adolescent Obesity 2015
Chapter 1 of 6 · Fundamentals
Introduction
Introduction: Passion, Patience, and Personal Experience in Obesity Care
Expert statements on this page
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Host summaries · secondary, not cited in answers
Educational content from recorded physician discussions — not medical advice. Talk to your (or your child's) care team about your situation.
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What the experts said
The term 'obesity' can cause damage and hurt to patients, so it should be used sensitively as a medical diagnosis without intending guilt or blame.
The solution to the obesity epidemic is not in the doctor's office alone, but the doctor's office has to be part of the solution.
Using guilt, shame, and blame does not motivate individuals to make healthy changes and instead makes them less likely to improve or more likely to worsen.
Clinical waiting rooms must have chairs that can accommodate larger patients and parents, as chairs with handrails may be too small for some families to sit comfortably.
Examination tables should be checked for weight capacity; some older tables only support up to 350 pounds.
Bathroom toilets should be checked for weight capacity and accessibility for patients to get up and down safely.
Clinical scales must be able to measure the patient's weight and should be located in a private area rather than an open office space.
A patient-centered, empowering approach utilizing motivational interviewing techniques can save time, improve clinical impact, and create more pleasant encounters for providers.
The American Academy of Pediatrics will be releasing a policy statement regarding weight bias in the next couple of years.
Parents often do not recognize their child's obesity because weight gain happens gradually, and they should not be blamed when they don't see it themselves.
A child at 55th percentile BMI, 75th percentile, and obese category cannot be reliably distinguished visually by healthcare providers due to the high prevalence of childhood obesity.
Healthcare providers cannot visually identify which children fall into obesity risk categories without calculating BMI percentile.
Weight bias has increased substantially over the last decade since 2006 and rates continue to rise according to UConn Rudd Center research.
Women experience weight bias more than men, and individuals with more severe obesity experience more bias.
Children experience weight bias from peers, family members, and healthcare professionals.
Individuals experiencing weight bias have higher levels of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and poor body image.
Weight bias leads to less preventative health services, fewer exams, more appointment cancellations, and delays in healthcare access.
Healthcare professionals are some of the worst offenders of weight bias as experienced by patients according to research studies.
Physicians view patients with obesity as noncompliant, dishonest, lazy, lacking self-control, weak-willed, unintelligent, and unsuccessful.
31% of nurses said they would prefer not to care for individuals affected by obesity.
24% of nurses said that folks with obesity repulse them.
Psychologists endorse that patients with obesity have more pathology, more severe symptoms, negative family qualities, and worse prognosis on initial assessment.