Abstract
Summary
Obesity is a complex, long-term condition that affects far more than a person’s physical health. It can impact emotional well-being (how happy a person feels), mental health (how a person feels about daily life), relationships, and quality of life.
In a study of 7,000 people across a range of body sizes, researchers found that people living with obesity reported lower self-esteem (lower satisfaction with oneself), higher levels of depression (feeling sad or hopeless) and stress, and greater feelings of loneliness compared with those not living with obesity. Many also shared that they received less empathy (less understanding) and faced more stigma (judgment). These findings highlight the need for well-rounded care that focuses on empathy in all areas of well-being for people living with obesity.
The number of people worldwide living with excess weight or obesity (people who weigh more than what is considered healthy) has increased in recent decades. Researchers in this study asked people living with obesity about their wellbeing. People interviewed in this study also shared their experiences with judgment (stigma) or understanding about their obesity. This study shows how greatly weight-related stigma can impact the well-being of people living with obesity.
Keywords
Footnotes
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Taylor Tibbs, PhD, Sara Musetti Jenkins, PhD, and Kate Lothman of RTI Health Solutions, a subsidiary of RTI International, for medical writing assistance. Novo Nordisk A/S provided funding for publication support in the form of manuscript writing, styling, and submission.
Author contributions
JHHP contributed to conceptualization, funding acquisition, and project administration. CC contributed to conceptualization, investigation, data analysis, and methodology. All authors contributed to writing, review, and editing.
Funding
Novo Nordisk A/S provided financial support for the study. RTI Health Solutions, LLC, a subsidiary of the nonprofit research organization RTI International, received funding from Novo Nordisk A/S to provide publication support in the form of manuscript writing, styling, and submission.
Declaration of conflicting interests
JHHP is an employee of Novo Nordisk A/S and holds shares and/or stock options in the company. TZ has no conflicts to disclose. CC is the Director of the Health and Happiness Lab, who conducted the survey analysis with funding from Novo Nordisk A/S.
Data availability
Data may be made available upon request.
Ethical considerations
Data collection was performed for market research, using a general population panel; therefore, no ethics approval was obtained. Participants gave written consent to participate and publish the resulting data.