Study assesses bias in treatment practices
April 9, 2009 · Published By Editor


MESA, Ariz. - Those struggling with weight issues could find another
obstacle in their path to losing weight - their dietitian. Arizona
State University and Yale University researchers found that even
students studying to become dietitians may have a bias toward the
overweight or obese. The findings are reported in the March issue of
the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
ASU nutrition professor Christopher Wharton was on the team that
examined attitudes of dietetics students toward obese persons to help
determine whether a patient’s body weight influences students’
treatment decisions and health evaluations.

“Weight bias is an important topic in the politics of obesity because
it highlights a major issue of contention - is obesity the fault of
the individual, society or both,” says Wharton. “An individual’s own
perspective on obesity may bias their approach to care and our results
suggest this possibility.”

Researchers surveyed 182 female dietetics students from across the
country. They were asked to do a self assessment as well as read mock
health profiles of patients who varied only by weight-related
characteristics and gender, and they were asked to make judgments
about the patient’s health status and participation in treatment.
Specific findings of this research include:

More than 40 percent of students reported that they believe obese
individuals are lazy, lacking in willpower, and are self-indulgent.
The majority of students surveyed also agreed that obese individuals
have poor self-control, overeat, are insecure and have low self-
esteem.

Students rated obese patients as being significantly less likely to
comply with treatment recommendations and as having worse diet quality
and health status compared to thinner patients, despite the fact that
all patients were described as healthy adults.

Only two percent of students demonstrated positive or neutral
attitudes toward obese individuals.

The results did not surprise Wharton because a number of previous
studies have identified high levels of weight bias in all sorts of
populations, from lay individuals to those in medical professions.

“Oftentimes, the default is to blame the individual for his or her
weight problems, but students need to understand the major
environmental factors that contribute to the problem and approach
patients in an unbiased manner,” he says.

Wharton believes that the study will push professors to consider the
issue of bias more within the classroom.

“I’m not sure dietetics curricula will change broadly to include
weight bias as a standard topic, but I will bet that individual
instructors will consider the issue as a topic in particular
classrooms,” says Wharton.

For information, contact Wharton at .