Language change urged to fight obesity stigma

Medical experts have urged people to destigmatise obesity by changing the words used to describe it.

The All Island Obesity Action Forum, hosted by Safefood in Belfast, heard that the use of negative imagery and language contributes to weight-related stigma. This stigma in turn negatively affects those who are in need of help.

The forum, which was held in collaboration with the Association for the Study of Obesity on the Island of Ireland, also heard that the discussion around obesity needs to change in the same way the discourse around mental health did.