The Impact of Stigma on the Child with Obesity: Implications for Social Work Practice and Research

Abstract

Childhood obesity has greatly increased in the past 20 years and is highly stigmatized in today's society. The effectiveness of obesity prevention efforts is threatened by the systemic impact of stigma that surrounds obesity. As childhood obesity increases so to does the responsibility of social workers to implement multi level interventions that not only assist children who are experiencing stigmatization, but are aimed at reducing stigmatization. This article reviews the origins of overweight stigmatization and the psychosocial influences of such stigmatization. The implications for social work practice and research from a systemic approach are addressed.

‘Every child (of every size) matters’ in physical education! Physical education's role in childhood obesity

“…Indeed, the stigmatisation of overweight and obesity appears to be increasing (Latner & Stunkard, 2003;Lawrence, 2010).…”

The Stigma of Being a Long-Term Foster Carer

“…Numerous groups of people have been identified as stigmatized by society. These include, but are not limited to, persons with mental (Corrigan & Watson, 2007;Hasson-Ohayon, Levy, Kravetz, Vollanski-Narkis, & Roe, 2011), physical (Barg, Armstrong, Hetz, & Latimer, 2010;Esmail, Darry, Walter, & Knupp, 2010;Green, 2003), behavioral (Kauffman, Mock, & Simpson, 2007) and intellectual disabilities (Bernier, Mao, & Yen, 2010;Jahoda, Wilson, Stalker, & Cairney, 2010); obese persons (Lawrence, 2010;Teixeira & Budd, 2010); homosexuals (Baiocco, D'Alessio, & Laghi, 2010;Goldstein & Davis, 2010); and women with sexually transmitted infections (East, Jackson, Peters, & O'Brien, 2009;Merin & Pachankis, 2011). Stigmatized groups are known to have an increased risk of developing physical and mental health problems, such as hypertension and anxiety, when compared with nonstigmatized groups (Link & Phelan, 2006;Major & O'Brien, 2005).…”