Choose your words wisely: Public preferences and perceptions of weight terminology used by health providers

In 2010, the British Public Health Minister urged healthcare providers to tell their obese patients that they are “fat” rather than “obese” in order to motivate them to become healthier. Although the intentions of this announcement may have been initiated from goals to promote public health, the potential for obese patients to become stigmatized from this recommendation could instead be harmful. The author will present original research which examined public perceptions of weight-based terminology used by health care providers to describe excess weight, including perceived stigma, blame, and motivation to reduce weight. A national sample of American adults (N = 1,064) and parents (N = 521) completed a survey to assess perceptions of common weight-based terms to describe excess body weight, and reactions to weight stigmatization from providers. The terms “weight” and “unhealthy weight” were rated as most desirable, and the terms “unhealthy weight” and “overweight” were rated to be the most motivating to lose weight. The terms “morbidly obese”, “fat”, and “obese” were rated as the most stigmatizing and blameful language used by health providers. Findings were consistent across socio-demographic variables and body weight categories. Furthermore, 19% of adults and 24% of parents reported that they would avoid future medical appointments if their provider used stigmatizing language about their weight. This research challenges recent recommendations made by public health officials to encourage health providers to call their obese patients “fat”, and has implications for specific strategies that providers can use to improve health care and address obesity.