Impact of Weight Stigma on Obese Women and Their Reproductive Health
by Fatima Bagom
Category: Social Sciences
Abstract – The obesity epidemic continues to grow globally, with many health and global administrators stunned about how to approach it. The health care system sticks to an individualistic approach, where responsibility and shame are placed on the individual and not big food companies or global shift to sedentary lifestyles. The roots of weight stigma center around shaming and discriminating against individuals based on their weight. The principles of weight stigma and weight bias find their ways in health care settings, including the OB GYN field, creating life-threatening situations. However, the connection between weight stigma in reproductive care and obese women remains heavily under-researched. This prompted an opportunity for a systematic literature review to unfold the health disparities obese women face in reproductive care. Four academic databases were used to locate over 4,000 sources. Sixteen of these papers were used in the final systematic review. Two main themes were expressed through the review: (1) Impacts of Weight Stigma and (2) Approaches to Weight Stigma. Recommendations for further interventions include increasing research on the topic and empowering obese women within clinical settings.