Niamh Arthurs: Pandemic has amplified language that stigmatises obesity

On World Obesity Day, registered dietitian Niamh Arthurs outlines how restrictions in the current Covid-19 pandemic have increased mental health challenges for this group

Some positive change is happening. One example is this image which is not the usual photo of a person with obesity without a head in a stereotypical situation. Photo via World Obesity Federation.

As we mark World Obesity Day today, researchers are calling on the Government to implement the Obesity Action Plan in light of the fact that people living with obesity have experienced heightened mental health challenges and stigmatisation in the pandemic. 

According to Dr Jean O’Connell, Chair of the Association for the Study of Obesity on the Island of Ireland, people living with obesity have an increased risk of severe illness with Covid-19, and the pandemic restrictions have heightened mental health challenges for this group.