Public perception moving away from seeing obesity as a personal problem resulting from bad choices

BOSTON — New research evaluating the opinions of both the American public and healthcare professionals during the past year finds a shift in perception toward obesity as a community problem of risks related to food and inactivity.

 

For adults in the United States, perception has moved away from seeing obesity as a personal problem resulting from bad choices. Healthcare professionals were already less likely than the public to view obesity as a personal problem of bad choices. These findings were presented during a poster session on Nov. 5 at The Obesity Society Annual Meeting at ObesityWeek 2014.

 

"Despite the high prevalence of obesity in the United States and worldwide, weight bias and stigma continue to complicate clinical and policy approaches to obesity treatment," said study author Ted Kyle of ConscienHealth. "The goal of our study was to measure any shifts that might affect or result from public policy changes," he said. "Our results show a significant shift in perceptions of obesity in 2014, with the percent of Americans seeing obesity as a community problem increasing as much as 13% and the percent of healthcare professionals increasing 18%. Surprisingly, the healthcare professionals who view obesity primarily as a medical problem actually decreased between 2013 and 2014. This trend bears watching."

 

Data also show differences among various demographic groups. In 2014, younger and higher income respondents more likely view obesity as a community problem. Older respondents more likely view it as a medical problem. Male and rural respondents more likely view obesity as a personal problem of bad choices.

 

The researchers observed little evidence of impact from the 2013 decision of American Medical Association to classify obesity as a chronic disease, but concluded that substantial news and social media attention for the documentary film Fed Up may have influenced perceptions of obesity.

 

"Obesity is one of the most complex, chronic medical conditions and successful treatment often requires the support and care of healthcare professionals," said Rebecca Puhl, deputy director at Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity speaking on behalf of The Obesity Society. "These trends are encouraging because they suggest a shift away from simplistic, biased views that focus on personal blame. The more that people recognize shared risks for obesity, the more likely they are to support evidence-based approaches to reducing obesity's impact."

 

Kyle and his colleagues conducted an online survey of a representative sample of 54,111 U.S. adults and 5,024 healthcare professionals, who were asked whether they viewed obesity primarily as a personal problem of bad choices, a community problem of bad food and inactivity or a medical problem. The HCP sample included registered nurses, physicians, dietitians and nutritionists, and healthcare policy/management professionals. Researchers analyzed how demographic variables (age, gender, income, region, urban density) were associated with the changing views of the public and HCPs.