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Mechanisms of Stigmatization in Family-Based Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight and Obesity

It is well established that overweight and obesity are often accompanied by stigmatization. However, the influence of stigmatization on interventions for overweight and obesity remains unknown. Stigma may be particularly harmful to children. This study aimed to examine how stigmatization affects eff...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hoeeg, Didde, Frohlich, Katherine L., Christensen, Ulla, Grabowski, Dan
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10605136/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37892253
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/children10101590
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author Hoeeg, Didde
Frohlich, Katherine L.
Christensen, Ulla
Grabowski, Dan
author_facet Hoeeg, Didde
Frohlich, Katherine L.
Christensen, Ulla
Grabowski, Dan
author_sort Hoeeg, Didde
collection PubMed
description It is well established that overweight and obesity are often accompanied by stigmatization. However, the influence of stigmatization on interventions for overweight and obesity remains unknown. Stigma may be particularly harmful to children. This study aimed to examine how stigmatization affects efforts to reduce childhood overweight and obesity through family interventions. This research was conducted in a socially disadvantaged area in Denmark. Twenty-seven families and forty professionals participated in in-depth interviews or workshops. The data were analyzed using CMO configurations from a realist evaluation and the theory of stigmatization developed by Link and Phelan. Thus, an abductive approach was employed in the analysis, with its foundation rooted in the empirical data. The study found that the mechanisms of stigmatization could 1. restrain professionals and parents from approaching the problem—thereby challenging family recruitment; 2. prevent parents from working with their children to avoid eating unhealthy food for fear of labeling the child as overweight or obese; and 3. cause children with obesity to experience a separation from other slimmer family members, leading at times to status loss, discrimination, and self-stigmatization. The study showed how the mechanisms of stigmatization may obstruct prevention and treatment of childhood obesity through family interventions. It is suggested that the concept of stigma should be incorporated into the program theories of interventions meant to reduce childhood overweight and obesity.
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spelling pubmed-106051362023-10-28 Mechanisms of Stigmatization in Family-Based Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight and Obesity Hoeeg, Didde Frohlich, Katherine L. Christensen, Ulla Grabowski, Dan Children (Basel) Article It is well established that overweight and obesity are often accompanied by stigmatization. However, the influence of stigmatization on interventions for overweight and obesity remains unknown. Stigma may be particularly harmful to children. This study aimed to examine how stigmatization affects efforts to reduce childhood overweight and obesity through family interventions. This research was conducted in a socially disadvantaged area in Denmark. Twenty-seven families and forty professionals participated in in-depth interviews or workshops. The data were analyzed using CMO configurations from a realist evaluation and the theory of stigmatization developed by Link and Phelan. Thus, an abductive approach was employed in the analysis, with its foundation rooted in the empirical data. The study found that the mechanisms of stigmatization could 1. restrain professionals and parents from approaching the problem—thereby challenging family recruitment; 2. prevent parents from working with their children to avoid eating unhealthy food for fear of labeling the child as overweight or obese; and 3. cause children with obesity to experience a separation from other slimmer family members, leading at times to status loss, discrimination, and self-stigmatization. The study showed how the mechanisms of stigmatization may obstruct prevention and treatment of childhood obesity through family interventions. It is suggested that the concept of stigma should be incorporated into the program theories of interventions meant to reduce childhood overweight and obesity. MDPI 2023-09-23 /pmc/articles/PMC10605136/ /pubmed/37892253 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/children10101590 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Hoeeg, Didde
Frohlich, Katherine L.
Christensen, Ulla
Grabowski, Dan
Mechanisms of Stigmatization in Family-Based Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight and Obesity
title Mechanisms of Stigmatization in Family-Based Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight and Obesity
title_full Mechanisms of Stigmatization in Family-Based Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight and Obesity
title_fullStr Mechanisms of Stigmatization in Family-Based Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight and Obesity
title_full_unstemmed Mechanisms of Stigmatization in Family-Based Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight and Obesity
title_short Mechanisms of Stigmatization in Family-Based Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight and Obesity
title_sort mechanisms of stigmatization in family-based prevention and treatment of childhood overweight and obesity
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10605136/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37892253
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/children10101590
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