CDC (2018) defined an obese person as somebody whose weight is higher than the recommended weight based on the person’s height. Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to determine whether an individual is obese. People with BMI that is greater than or equal to thirty are considered to be obese (CDC, 2018). Factors such as genes, dietary patterns, physical inactivity, medication, physical environment, education, skills among others have been known to promote the occurrence of obesity (CDC, 2018). According to Hatzenbuehler, Phelan & Link (2013) stigma plays a role in determining population health through availability of resources and coping mechanisms. People who are discriminated by the rest of the society due to various factors like sexual preference, HIV status among others are usually stressed hence impacting negatively on their health. They also adapt coping behaviors that can be harmful to their health like staying indoors for long periods leading to obesity. Limited resources like money can also lead to consumption of poor foods hence occurrence of obesity. When addressing factors that influence the occurrence of obesity, it is important to address the role of stigma in the reinforcement of these factors.
People are discriminated due to the social group that they belong to as well as due to the social conditions that limits an individual’s opportunities, resources and well-being (Hatzenbuehler, Phelan & Link, 2013). For instance, one is stigmatized due to their sexual orientation and obese condition. Stigma leads to skewed opportunities and services like employment, wages, mortgages, quality education and healthcare. As a result of this, obese people suffer reduced interpersonal influences as they hold no advantage within the community. This leads to a society full of people suffering from illnesses due to lack of knowledge and resources for the management, treatment and care of obesity and related illnesses. Obese people at times isolate themselves from the rest of the community due to fear of being rejected. They prefer to socialize with other obese people as opposed to others. The fear of developing close relationships with others is as a result of avoiding the rest society of discovering their stigmatized status (Hatzenbuehler, Phelan & Link, 2013). The desire to associate with people who are also stigmatized leads to fragmented relationships within the community as there is no interaction within the wider society. Due to stigma, individuals have been known to develop maladaptive coping behaviors like smoking and drinking (Hatzenbuehler, Phelan & Link (2013). This can lead to a society characterized by people with behaviors that are contrary to the community standards like alcoholism.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Hatzenbuehler, Phelan & Link (2013) observed that there are power differences between those who stigmatize and those who are stigmatized. The people who stigmatize others make decisions that are in their favor and hence have advantage over the stigmatized. Obesity has resulted into health inequalities within the country. Obesity also limits access to multiple resources that are structural, interpersonal and psychological in nature (Hatzenbuehler, Phelan & Link (2013). This also affects the country’s economy as a large number of people will not be contributing to the Gross Domestic Product of the country. The country’s healthcare costs will also rise due to the treatment of obese people, those with related illnesses and those whose health conditions arise from the maladaptive behaviors including alcoholism.
In conclusion, while it is proposed that obesity is caused by inactivity, poor feeding habits among others, it is important to look at the role that stigma plays in these factors. Stigma hampers availability of nutritious foods leading to obesity among others. Obesity affects the interrelationships within the community which in turn brings about inequalities in health, increase in health costs and drop in GDP due to reduced productivity
References
Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (2018), Overweight & Obesity. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/ Accessed 7 th July,2018
Hatzenbeuhler, M., Phelan, J. & Link, G. (2013), Stigma as a Fundamental Cause of Population Health Inequalities, American Journal of Public Health, 103 (5):813-821
