Supportive Obesity Care
Weight stigma exists in many aspects of our society, and the healthcare setting is no exception. People with higher weight face bias and stigma from physicians, nurses, psychologists, dietitians, medical students, and even healthcare professionals who specialize in obesity. Stigmatizing attitudes from medical professionals include stereotypes that people with higher body weight are lazy, lacking in willpower, unmotivated to improve health, and noncompliant with treatment. When patients feel judged or stigmatized about their body weight, this can lead to lower trust of their healthcare providers, poorer quality of care, and avoidance of healthcare.
To equip healthcare professionals with knowledge and tools to provide more respectful, supportive, and compassionate care to patients of all body sizes, we have created Supportive Obesity Care, a free, educational, and evidence-based resource.
The Supportive Obesity Care website, which the Rudd Center developed in collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company, aims to educate clinicians about the damaging effects of weight stigma on patients, raise awareness of how weight stigma manifests in the healthcare setting, and offer practical strategies that are applicable in everyday clinical practice to improve supportive patient care. We invite you to use and share the educational videos, podcasts, and handouts throughout this website.
