UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Preferences and emotional response to weight-related terminology used by healthcare professionals to describe body weight in people living with overweight and obesity

Brown, A; Flint, SW; (2021) Preferences and emotional response to weight-related terminology used by healthcare professionals to describe body weight in people living with overweight and obesity. Clinical Obesity , Article e12470. 10.1111/cob.12470. (In press). Green open access

[thumbnail of Brown Flint 2021 Weight related terminology in PLWO.pdf]
Preview
Text
Brown Flint 2021 Weight related terminology in PLWO.pdf - Published Version

Download (667kB) | Preview

Abstract

Previous studies have explored people's perceptions of weight-related terminology; however, to date, limited data has explored the emotional response to weight-related terms used by healthcare professionals (HCPs). This study explored the preferences and emotional responses of terms used by HCPs to describe body weight and of parents to describe their children's weight. A total of 2911 adults completed an online cross-sectional survey, with 1693 living with overweight or obesity (mean age 49.2 years [SD 12.5], female (96%), median body mass index (BMI) 31.4 kg/m^{2} [28.1, 36.5]). The survey explored preferences of 22 weight-related terms using a 5-point Likert scale and their emotional response to these terms (using 7-core emotions). Parents also indicated preferences and emotional responses to terms used to describe their children's weight. Respondents completed the modified weight bias internalization scale to examine how this may impacted preferences. 'Weight', "unhealthy weight" and "overweight" were the three preferred terms, while "super obese", "chubby", and "extra-large" were least preferred in people living with overweight and obesity. Parents preferred 'weight', "unhealthy weight" and "body mass index", and least preferred "fat", "extra-large" and "extremely obese" when describing their children's weight. All terms elicited a negative emotional response. The most commonly emotion was sadness for terms to describe adult's bodyweight, and anger for terms used to describe children's weight. All BMI categories reported disgust with terms incorporating "obese". Our results offer novel insight into the preferred terminology and emotional responses to terminology used by HCPs for both adults and parents to describe their children's weight.

Type: Article
Title: Preferences and emotional response to weight-related terminology used by healthcare professionals to describe body weight in people living with overweight and obesity
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/cob.12470
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12470
Language: English
Additional information: © 2021 The Authors. Clinical Obesity published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of World Obesity Federation. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords: healthcare professionals, obesity, weight stigma, weight-related terminology
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine > Experimental and Translational Medicine
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10130103
Downloads since deposit
125Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item