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Why Bariatric Weighted Suits May Advance the Scientific Study of Weight Stigma
Author(s) -
Mills Claire,
Ryall Emily
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1002/oby.22340
Subject(s) - stigma (botany) , empowerment , obesity , medicine , empathy , patient empowerment , psychology , public relations , social psychology , political science , law , psychiatry
TO THE EDITOR: Understanding the impact of excess body fat and its effect on quality and length of life is a major public policy focus (1). As such, obesity-prevention programs have focused on advocating a balanced and varied diet, daily calorie intake, and moderate to vigorous exercise (2,3). However, exercise and health professionals may lack empathetic understanding to assist populations with obesity in following these recommendations. The use of bariatric weighted suits (BWS) may be a means to bridge this gap of empathy and understanding. As such, we believe it necessary to contest three areas that are highlighted in Meadows et al.’s (4) letter to the editor, “Why Fat Suits Do Not Advance the Scientific Study of Weight Stigma.”