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Cited by 304Obesity and Health PracticesPatient-Provider Communication in HealthcareEating Disorders and Behaviors

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 5 of the 5 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Motivating or stigmatizing? Public perceptions of weight-related language used by health providers

Puhl, R, Peterson, J L, Luedicke, J·2013·International Journal of Obesity
DOI 10.1038/ijo.2012.110
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Abstract

Background Research demonstrates that health providers express negative attitudes toward overweight and obese patients that can be conveyed through weight-related language, yet little is known about people's perceptions of weight-related language used by providers. The current study examined public preferences and perceptions of weight-based terminology used by health-care providers to describe excess weight. Method A national sample of American adults (N=1064) completed an online survey to assess perceptions and preferences associated with 10 common terms to describe body weight. Participants rated how much they perceived each term to be desirable, stigmatizing, blaming or motivating to lose weight (using five-point Likert scales), and how they would react if stigmatized by their doctor's reference to their weight. Results The terms 'weight' (3.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.35-3.50) and 'unhealthy weight' (3.24, 95% CI 3.15-3.33) were rated most desirable, and the terms 'unhealthy weight' (3.77, 95% CI 3.69-3.84) and 'overweight' (3.51, 95% CI 3.43-3.58) were rated most motivating to lose weight. The terms 'morbidly obese', 'fat' and 'obese' were rated as the most undesirable (95% CI 1.61-2.06), stigmatizing (95% CI 3.66-4.05) and blaming (95% CI 3.62-3.94) language used by health providers. Notably, participant ratings were consistent across socio-demographic variables and body weight categories. A total of 19% of participants reported they would avoid future medical a…

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  • Patients who report having experienced weight bias in the healthcare setting have poor treatment outcomes and might be more likely to avoid future care.

    “patients who report having experienced weight bias in the healthcare setting have poor treatment outcomes40 and might be more likely to avoid future care41.”

    From Joint international consensus statement for ending stigma of obesity (2020) · cites this paper as [41]

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Research works printed but not linked: 41

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Metadata

Authors
Puhl, R., Peterson, J. L., & Luedicke, J.
Affiliations
Yale University (US)
Corresponding author
Puhl, R
ORCID
Puhl, R
Venue
International Journal of Obesity
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2012-07-10
Volume
37
Issue
4
Pages
612-619
ISSN
  • 0307-0565 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-5497
DOI
10.1038/ijo.2012.110
OpenAlex
W2068389121
Cited by
304
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 2
FWCI
13.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
erratum (2013-04-09)
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • International Journal of Obesity (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity and Health Practices
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
Keywords
weight stigma, public perception, overweight, patient preferences, weight loss motivation, physician-patient communication
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Body Weight, Communication, Female, Health Personnel, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Motivation, Terminology as Topic, Obesity, Physician-Patient Relations, Self Concept, Social Class, Social Perception, Stereotyping, United States

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