Project 465818

Obesity is a complex chronic disease with several different causal factors that could be physical (e.g., genetics), environmental (e.g., access to healthy foods), and social (e.g., relationships and support). Obesity, which means excess fat that can negatively impact other markers of health, is increasing in the Canadian population. People who have obesity also experience weight stigma in social settings. Weight stigma refers to negative stereotypes and attitudes towards weight, which can lead to treating individuals unfairly. Weight stigma has led to people living with obesity being treated unfairly even in healthcare settings, and problematically, this could mean not receiving the care they need to improve their health. Obesity Canada is the country's largest charitable organization that advocates for people living with obesity and informs strategies to prevent weight stigma. In the next 3-5 years, Obesity Canada aims to launch a national framework to address obesity. To do this they have created Action Teams that will address various aspects of obesity care and education. These teams are responsible for summarizing the literature in their field, designing surveys or scans to understand the needs of people who have obesity, and present strategies to include in the framework. This fellowship will include serving as a project manager to coordinate the Action Team activities and help with the research processes. Additionally, working with The University of Toronto, this fellowship will include conducting studies to understand experiences of weight stigma in racialized communities in Canada which is a very understudied area. Racialized individuals may have unique forms of weight stigma and impact on their healthcare which need to be understood and included in a national framework given our country's diverse population. The fellow will lead these studies and present the findings to the Obesity Canada team to inform the national framework for obesity care.