Say what you mean, mean what you say: The importance of language in the treatment of obesity

Objective Obesity is a highly stigmatized disease, and despite the understanding of the processes involved, negative language reinforcing outdated views of obesity persists within the scientific literature. This is the first study, to the authors' knowledge, to determine how widespread stigmatizing language is within publications on obesity and examine its impact on patients. Methods Two standard terms within obesity publications were identified, and a literature search was carried out to determine their prevalence. A parallel qualitative analysis was conducted with patients with obesity to determine perceptions of these terms. Results Of the 3,020 papers screened, 2.4% included the term fail, and 16.8% contained morbid used in conjunction with obesity. Sixteen patients participated in the qualitative analysis. They felt that negative language, particularly failure, implied a personal responsibility for lack of weight loss. Clinically meaningful terminology fostered a more constructive relationship with health care providers. Conclusions Although most journals object to overtly stigmatizing language, using phrases or words that carry negative connotations is less clearly discouraged. It is important to recognize that language that implies a moral responsibility for weight loss or the development of obesity contradicts the well-established evidence base that obesity results from complex biological processes.

Automated summary

This study aims to investigate the prevalence of stigmatizing language about obesity in scientific literature and examine its impact on patients. The research found that negative language implies personal responsibility for weight loss and affects the relationship with healthcare providers.