Challenging the last socially acceptable stigma
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Living Well with a Health Condition
Dr Cath Homer from the School of Sport and Physical Activity, together with colleagues, has written to The Lancet in response to recent media coverage and public reaction surrounding the evaluation of the NHS’s Complications of Excess Weight (CEW) clinics.
As lead evaluators, the authors highlight that while obesity is recognised as a serious, chronic, and complex disease shaped by genetic, biological, environmental, economic, societal, and psychological factors, it remains “the last socially acceptable stigma.”
They argue that this stigma must be challenged. For clinical care to be truly effective, it must be delivered within a society that is compassionate, respectful, and understanding.