The Contribution of Applied Social Sciences to Obesity Stigma-Related Public Health Approaches

Obesity is viewed as a major public health concern, and obesity stigma is pervasive. Such marginalization renders obese persons a “special population.” Weight bias arises in part due to popular sources’ attribution of obesity causation to individual lifestyle factors. This may not accurately reflect...

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Main Author: Andrea E. Bombak
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2014-01-01
Series:Journal of Obesity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/267286
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author Andrea E. Bombak
author_facet Andrea E. Bombak
author_sort Andrea E. Bombak
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description Obesity is viewed as a major public health concern, and obesity stigma is pervasive. Such marginalization renders obese persons a “special population.” Weight bias arises in part due to popular sources’ attribution of obesity causation to individual lifestyle factors. This may not accurately reflect the experiences of obese individuals or their perspectives on health and quality of life. A powerful role may exist for applied social scientists, such as anthropologists or sociologists, in exploring the lived and embodied experiences of this largely discredited population. This novel research may aid in public health intervention planning. Through these studies, applied social scientists could help develop a nonstigmatizing, salutogenic approach to public health that accurately reflects the health priorities of all individuals. Such an approach would call upon applied social science’s strengths in investigating the mundane, problematizing the “taken for granted” and developing emic (insiders’) understandings of marginalized populations.
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spelling doaj-art-3815bce88bdb49d8898f7c8a9bc7efb42025-08-20T02:07:59ZengWileyJournal of Obesity2090-07082090-07162014-01-01201410.1155/2014/267286267286The Contribution of Applied Social Sciences to Obesity Stigma-Related Public Health ApproachesAndrea E. Bombak0Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, S113-750 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3E 0W3, CanadaObesity is viewed as a major public health concern, and obesity stigma is pervasive. Such marginalization renders obese persons a “special population.” Weight bias arises in part due to popular sources’ attribution of obesity causation to individual lifestyle factors. This may not accurately reflect the experiences of obese individuals or their perspectives on health and quality of life. A powerful role may exist for applied social scientists, such as anthropologists or sociologists, in exploring the lived and embodied experiences of this largely discredited population. This novel research may aid in public health intervention planning. Through these studies, applied social scientists could help develop a nonstigmatizing, salutogenic approach to public health that accurately reflects the health priorities of all individuals. Such an approach would call upon applied social science’s strengths in investigating the mundane, problematizing the “taken for granted” and developing emic (insiders’) understandings of marginalized populations.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/267286
spellingShingle Andrea E. Bombak
The Contribution of Applied Social Sciences to Obesity Stigma-Related Public Health Approaches
Journal of Obesity
title The Contribution of Applied Social Sciences to Obesity Stigma-Related Public Health Approaches
title_full The Contribution of Applied Social Sciences to Obesity Stigma-Related Public Health Approaches
title_fullStr The Contribution of Applied Social Sciences to Obesity Stigma-Related Public Health Approaches
title_full_unstemmed The Contribution of Applied Social Sciences to Obesity Stigma-Related Public Health Approaches
title_short The Contribution of Applied Social Sciences to Obesity Stigma-Related Public Health Approaches
title_sort contribution of applied social sciences to obesity stigma related public health approaches
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/267286
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