Schnieber Anette, Andreassen Pernille, Vilsbøll Tina, Nielsen Per, Yssing Cecilie, Rasmussen Amanda Falah, Stensen Signe, Nørremark Kasper, Bruun Jens Meldgaard
Research Centre for Rehabilitation, VIA University College, Aarhus, Denmark.
Danish National Center for Obesity, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Obes Facts. 2025 Jun 21:1-15. doi: 10.1159/000546218.
When discussing body weight with health care professionals (HCPs), people living with obesity (PwO) can feel stigmatised by specific terms. In English-speaking research settings, PwO have expressed preferences for "technical" or health-related terms (e.g., weight; body mass index [BMI]), as opposed to vernacular terms (e.g., fatness), but no such studies have been conducted in a Danish linguistic and cultural setting. The aim of the present study was to investigate preferences of PwO for weight-related terminology in conversations with HCPs in a Danish context.
The study utilised survey data from the Awareness, Care, and Treatment In Obesity maNagement-Denmark (ACTION-DK) study among Danish adults with a self-reported BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2.
A total of 879 Danish adults with obesity completed the questionnaire on preferred weight-related terminology, preferred HCP communication actions in weight loss conversation, and acceptability of HCPs raising the topic of weight. Respondents preferred technical or health related, person-first terminology; weight, overweight, high BMI, and higher weight were most preferred; fat, extra large, chubby, morbid obesity, and curvy were least preferred. A total of 71% respondents appreciated their HCP raising the topic of weight. When prioritising HCP communication actions in weight-loss conversations, PwO emphasised empathy and respectfulness over concrete actions.
The present study is the first to investigate PwO preference for weight-related terminology in a Danish setting, with findings overall in support of similar international studies. The identification of specific, acceptable terms, together with the proportion of respondents appreciating their HCP raising the topic of weight, indicate that respectful conversations between PwO and HCPs about weight are possible. However, HCPs should always enquire about an individual's preferences.
在与医护人员讨论体重问题时，肥胖症患者可能会因某些特定术语而感到受到污名化。在英语研究环境中，肥胖症患者表示更喜欢“专业”或与健康相关的术语（例如体重；体重指数[BMI]），而不是通俗术语（例如肥胖），但在丹麦语言和文化环境中尚未进行此类研究。本研究的目的是调查在丹麦背景下，肥胖症患者在与医护人员交谈时对体重相关术语的偏好。
该研究利用了丹麦肥胖症管理意识、护理和治疗（ACTION-DK）研究中的调查数据，该研究对象为丹麦自我报告BMI≥30.0kg/m²的成年人。
共有879名丹麦肥胖症成年人完成了关于体重相关术语偏好、减肥谈话中医护人员首选沟通方式以及医护人员提及体重话题可接受性的问卷调查。受访者更喜欢专业或与健康相关的、以人为本的术语；体重、超重、高BMI和较高体重最受青睐；肥胖、特大号、胖乎乎、病态肥胖和曲线优美最不受欢迎。共有71%的受访者赞赏医护人员提及体重话题。在确定减肥谈话中医护人员的沟通方式优先级时，肥胖症患者强调同理心和尊重比具体行动更重要。
本研究首次在丹麦环境中调查肥胖症患者对体重相关术语的偏好，研究结果总体上支持类似国际研究。确定具体的、可接受的术语，以及赞赏医护人员提及体重话题的受访者比例，表明肥胖症患者和医护人员之间就体重问题进行尊重的对话是可能的。然而，医护人员应始终询问个人偏好。
