Overweight and Obesity on Adults and Children Across Various Sectors - Literature review Example

Weight Stigma of This paper establishes the effects of overweight and obesity on adults and children across various sectors, including the education, healthcare, and public settings. Overweight and obesity are serious social concerns spread throughout the world. The stigma of obese and overweight persons is a social construct though different from other social constructs because the individual can control it. This paper introduces the topic by explaining the implications of being overweight or obese as far as stigma is concerned. Following is the literature review section, which samples leading studies on the topic and identifies the gaps that should be filled. Interviews and questionnaires were used to obtain firsthand experiences of obese and overweight persons regarding stigmatization. The paper recommends various ways through which stigmatization can be terminated across the identified settings. Health, education, and public reforms can help obese and overweight persons a great deal in dealing with social stigma. Introduction Overweight and obesity continue to prevail in most parts of the world and in all sectors. Professionals across multiple disciplines have taken the initiative to determine the effects of overweight and obesity on health behaviors with the aim of establishing a positive effect on the health of overweight and obese persons. One particular area that needs further examination is the influence of weight stigma on self-worth. It has been proven that stigma is a social construct and entails the negative evaluation of people due to their membership in a particular group. This negative evaluation deprives the target group of status (Witherspoon et al., 2013). Moreover, the target group is heavily discriminated against in the society. Overweight and obese persons are among the most stigmatized groups in the world partly due to the unproven perception that weight can be controlled, unlike gender or race. Consequently, overweight or obese persons should take responsibility for the discriminative practices directed against them. This paper aims to investigate the impact of internalization of weight stigma on the self-worth of overweight persons, as well as their health practices especially eating habits and physical activity. Literature Review Lewis and others (2011) conducted a qualitative investigation of obese men’s experiences with their weights. Most participants in the study believed that weight gain was a result of their health behaviors. Men pointed out inactivity and diet as the main factors influencing their weight gain. Essentially, men claimed that they ate too much and exercised too little. According to the male participants, physical inactivity highly contributed to their weight gain. Overweight men felt embarrassed, shy, and withdrawn as they mingled with other people both at work and at home. The study established that men are preoccupied with other activities that bar them from exercising physically. For instance, men are preoccupied with providing fork the family financially; therefore, they have to spend much time at work to earn more. Nevertheless, the study recommended ways to support overweight people overcome the stigma they face. Families and communities should support overweight persons by accommodating them. In addition, employers should create time for workers to engage in physical activities at the workplace. Life should also be made affordable for all people, which calls for government action. Wang et al. (2004) investigated the influence of the stigma of obesity on overweight individuals. Their study established that overweight individuals internalize the social stigma. These people hold strong negative implicit associations for their overweight status but do not prefer fellow overweight persons. Explicit group devaluation occurs on stereotypes such as laziness and stupidity. Many fat people are usually lazier than thin people are. The study established more bias for implicit than explicit measures. The absence of in-group preference among overweight persons is dangerous because it could fuel stigma within the society as far as overweight and obesity are concerned. If in-group members do not challenge the negative views directed against them by normal weight persons, they may ignore the stereotypes of overweight and obese people, which could build up to disproportionate levels. Overweight people who stereotype fellow overweight individuals may persuade normal persons to increase the levels of discrimination against overweight people. Stigmatized sources often motivate more than non-stigmatized sources in persuading the spread of negative messages. Neki (2013) investigated the link between obesity and depression. He acknowledges that obesity is prevalent in society today and poses a risk to mortality and morbidity. At the heart of the study was to establish the psychological correlates of obesity, which have not been studied widely. Neki observed that behavioral mechanisms such as repeated dieting, functional impairment, poor self-related health, body image dissatisfaction, and social mechanisms (including stigma) are responsible for depression in obese and overweight persons. Depression caused by obesity could have both direct physiological and indirect psychological channels that connect obesity to depression. The first channel could be the biological effect of stress activity that escalates as hormones change in the body. Indirectly, mechanisms such as negative thoughts, binge eating, poor adherence, and reduced social support hinder the process of taking care of oneself as far as an overweight person is concerned. Weight gain is the result of this situation. A number of other studies suggest causal mechanisms and risk factors that govern the link between obesity and depression. The two conditions could influence each other through a bidirectional causal relation. Longitudinal studies are necessary to give a prospective prediction of overweight persons that can be depressed while also intervening prophylactically. Methodology Because this study was aimed at investigating the impact of internalization of weight stigma on the self-worth of overweight persons, as well as their health practices especially eating habits and physical activity, interviews were the main technique used in the research. Overweight and obese persons were sampled from various settings and interviewed on their experiences in those settings. These settings included the workplace, institutions of higher learning, healthcare facilities, and public venues. Data was collected using questionnaires wit closed and open-ended questions. Qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis were used to depict the effects of weight stigma on self-worth and health practices. The Likert Scale was used to gauge the responses of interviewees with simple parameters such as “agree,” “strongly agree,” “disagree,” and “strongly disagree.” Discussion The social consequences of being obese and overweight are one of the most serious and pervasive. Individuals who are overweight and obese often attract bias and stigma. In addition, these individuals are vulnerable to negative attitudes manifested in various spheres, including places of work, medical facilities, learning institutions, interpersonal relationships, and even mass media (Creel & Tillman, 2011). Stigma can be defined precisely as the negative attitudes affecting interpersonal interactions and daily activities in a manner considered detrimental. Stigma can be demonstrated in various forms. Verbal stigma includes ridicule, insults, teasing, derogatory names, stereotypes, or pejorative language. Physical stigma includes grabbing, touching, and other aggressive behaviors (O’Dea, 2004). There are also other challenges experienced by overweight or obese people, which qualify as stigma. They include medical equipment that are sometimes too small for such patients, seats in public places that do not fit overweight persons, or stores that do not sell clothes fitting obese persons. On the extreme end, stigma could come from subtle and overt discrimination. Such include employment discrimination whereby an overweight or obese employee is denied a job opportunity or promotion because of the physical appearance despite having the required qualifications (Wang et al., 2004). Weight stigma takes place in multiple settings and is perpetrated by several individuals. In employment settings, for instance, obese and overweight persons experience a wide range of biases. According to valuable research, resumes accompanied by videos or photos of overweight persons achieve negative ratings. The applicants are less likely to secure the job compared to resumes accompanied by average weight photos (Wang et al., 2004). On the other hand, some research has established that overweight employees are negatively stereotyped as being sloppy, lazy, lacking in self-discipline, less competent, less conscientious, disagreeable, and poor role models. Additionally, overweight and obese employees have suffered wage penalties in certain instances in the nature of being remunerated less than the average weight employees for jobs of the same magnitude are. In addition, such employees are more likely to be given positions that pay less on top of being locked out of promotions whenever such opportunities arise (Wang et al., 2004). In learning institutions, overweight or obese students often face harassment and ridicule instigated by fellow students. In addition, teachers and instructors may develop negative attitudes towards such students. Research at the college level establishes that overweight and obese students are often locked out of admissions despite the fact that they qualify for the college intakes. Female students are particularly disadvantaged in this regard according to the research (O’Dea, 2004). On the other hand, medical facilities have developed biased attitudes towards patients who are overweight and obese. Research has established that nurses, psychologists, physicians, medical students, dieticians have developed perceptions that overweight and obese patients are weak-willed, unsuccessful, unintelligent, overindulgent, unpleasant, and lazy. The most striking consequence of bias from medical practitioners is that overweight and obese patients may find themselves skipping medical care for fear of discrimination (Creel & Tillman, 2011). It has also been proven that overweight patients have a higher tendency of skipping medical appointments, as well as preventive healthcare services. The situation is worse among overweight and obese women. Adult persons experiencing weight stigmatization have been established to have increased rates of anxiety, depression, poorer psychological adjustment, and social isolation. Many obese adults have been found to internalize and admit negative attitudes targeted against them as a means of reacting to weight stigma (Witherspoon et al., 2013). Such responses have the tendency to increase the vulnerability of these persons to low self-esteem. Societal messages fuel beliefs that individual scan control their weights and, therefore, obese people should not challenge stereotypes directed against them because they can choose to lose weight and escape the stereotypes. In addition, stigma affects eating habits negatively. Some adults resort to eating more to suppress the stigma while others eat less to avoid gaining more weight (Witherspoon et al., 2013). Lastly, stigma also affects physical health as overweight, and obese persons avoid healthcare services for fear of discrimination as discussed above. Research has not yet established whether and to what extent stigma worsens poor self-care or increases the complications of obesity and overweight. On the other hand, children who are obese and overweight also suffer stigma. Their vulnerability may be worse due to the bias they face. Overweight and obese children as young as three have been reported to suffer bias and negative attitudes from peers. These attitudes are manifested in terms of meanness, ugliness, laziness, unhappiness, and inability to make friends (O’Dea, 2004). In most cases, peers fuel weight-related teasing and the use of derogatory names. These are prevalent in the school setting where children come together. Additionally, stigma negatively affects the emotional well-being of children. According to research, stigmatized children often internalize negative attitudes and blame themselves for the unpleasant social experiences facing them. Overweight and obese adolescents have been found to suffer depression and have low self-esteem because of teasing. They have a higher tendency to social isolation (O’Dea, 2004). Recent studies have established increased instances of suicides among adolescents and youth due to the stigma of obesity and overweight. Way Forward? A number of strategies are available, which professionals and researchers can use to reduce the weight stigma in the society while improving attitudes towards obese and overweight persons. Professionals in the health sector, for instance, can realize their biases and start developing empathy for obese and overweight patients. Health professionals should handle such patients sensitively having known the kind of trauma they undergo. In addition, health professionals should acknowledge the complexity of being obese and overweight and caution their colleagues against stereotyping. The healthcare environment should be designed in such a way that it is supportive to all patients, including obese and overweight patients. Learning institutions should formulate policies against discrimination of obese and overweight students. The areas of discrimination included in school policies have been confined to gender, religion, and economic status. If students and workers in learning institutions appreciate that stigmatization on appearance and related stereotypes are wrong, sanity will prevail in the institutions with the immediate beneficiaries being obese and overweight students. These students will mingle with other students freely with the overall outcome of improved academic performance and emotional development. The government should act by establishing laws that include obesity and overweight as a protected group. Disputes have arisen in the employment sector, for instance, revolving around discrimination based on being overweight or obese. Employers have taken advantage of the legal loopholes to argue that obesity and overweight are not protected characteristics under the law as far as discrimination is concerned. Public venues should be designed in such a way that they accommodate obese and overweight persons. Chairs in public halls and public transport, for instance, should be wide enough to allow comfortable sitting for overweight and obese persons. Conclusion Obesity and overweight are issues of serious concern in the society. Victims suffer in silence because there are no avenues for redress. This paper has discussed the effects of obesity and overweight on self-worth and health practices. The areas of stigma have been identified as workplace, learning institutions, health settings, and other public places. Victims of stigma are children, adolescents and adults suffering in equal measure. Obese and overweight persons consider themselves less valued in the society, and most of them have internalized this stereotype to the extent that they cannot resist it. Although obesity and overweight can be controlled, there are strategies that can be used across the identified stigma settings to alleviate the stigma among obese and overweight persons. References Creel, E. and Tillman, K. (2011). Stigmatization of overweight patients by nurses. The Qualitative Report, 16(5), 1330. Lewis, S., Thomas, S. L., Hyde, J., Castle, D. J., and Komesaroff, P. A. (2011). A qualitative investigation of obese men’s experiences with their weights. American Journal of Health Behavior, 35(4), 458-69. Neki, N. S. (2013). Obesity and Depression:-Is There Any Link? JK Science, 15(4), 164-168 ODea, J. A. (2004). Evidence for a Self-Esteem Approach in the Prevention of Body Image and Eating Problems among Children and Adolescents. Eating Disorders, 12(3), 225-239. Wang, S. S., Brownell, K. D., and Wadden, T. A. (2004). The influence of the stigma of obesity on overweight individuals. International Journal of Obesity & Related Metabolic Disorders, 28(10), 1333-1337. Witherspoon, D., Latta, L., Wang, Y., and Black, M. (2013). Do Depression, Self-Esteem, Body- Esteem, and Eating Attitudes Vary by BMI Among African American Adolescents? Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 38(10), 1112-1120. Read More