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Stigma In Persons with Obesity

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Stigma and Prejudice

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Psychiatry ((CCPSY))

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Abstract

Obesity is a highly stigmatized disease that is one of the most common health problems facing our nation today. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the current understanding of how perceptions of people with obesity and the associated weight-related stigma ultimately impact treatment (including weight loss surgery), the healthcare system, mental health/psychosocial functioning, and other social determinants of behavior (e.g., employment, education, interpersonal relationships). Finally, a look at current interventions to address weight stigma and future directions for the field will be summarized.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MGH Weight Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Mark J. Gorman PhD, W. Scott Butsch MD, MSc, Noreen A. Reilly-Harrington PhD, Janey Pratt MD & Stephanie Sogg PhD

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Mark J. Gorman PhD, Noreen A. Reilly-Harrington PhD & Stephanie Sogg PhD

  3. Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    W. Scott Butsch MD, MSc

  4. Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Janey Pratt MD

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  1. Mark J. Gorman PhD
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  2. W. Scott Butsch MD, MSc
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Correspondence to Mark J. Gorman PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Ranna Parekh

  2. Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Ed W. Childs

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Gorman, M.J., Butsch, W.S., Reilly-Harrington, N.A., Pratt, J., Sogg, S. (2016). Stigma In Persons with Obesity. In: Parekh, R., Childs, E. (eds) Stigma and Prejudice. Current Clinical Psychiatry. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27580-2_2

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