On October 11, we celebrate World Obesity Day (WOD). The goal of this global action is to draw the attention of all societies in the world to the development of the obesity pandemic. We are celebrating this year's WOD under the slogan of counteracting the stigmatization of people suffering from obesity.

The World He alth Organization (WHO) recognized obesity as the most dangerous chronic disease already in the 1970s, with no tendency to spontaneously resolve (i.e. without treatment) and leading to many other serious diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, arthrosis and cancer. WHO has also entered obesity into the International Classification of Diseases and He alth Problems ICD 10 - code E-66.

The World Obesity Federation, which brings together institutions and organizations working for people with obesity, warns: obesity has already taken the proportions of a pandemic. 7.4 billion people suffer from it, and this number increases by 1.2% every year.

In order to draw the society's attention to the need to undertake broader preventive measures and to introduce national obesity treatment systems at every stage of the disease (from overweight, through obesity of the 1st and 2nd degree, ending with 3rd degree obesity, the so-called enormous and extremely enormous), and the fight against discrimination against obese people in all areas of society,World Obesity Federationhas establishedas theWorld Obesity Day(World Obesity Day - WOD) on October 11. . This year's WOD campaign is guided by the slogan of stopping the phenomenon of stigmatization of people with obesity.

Social stigma- in other words:marking, "patching someone else, label"- is the process of assigning negative traits and behaviors to individuals or groups social. Stigmatization is the basis for the formation of social stereotypes.People suffering from obesity experience stigma due to their weight.

Most popular myths about obesity

  • obesity is an "aesthetic defect of the body" (" if he / she looks bad, looks terrible ")
  • obesity is the result of nutritional neglect in childhood (" a he althy child is a fat child ")
  • obesity is the result of a bad lifestyle (" eats a lot and littlestarts”)
  • obesity is the result of "eating sweets" complexes and life failures
  • obesity is due to a lack of willpower (" if he would have a strong will, he would lose weight ")
  • obesity is only a "genetic disorder" (" the whole family is fat, how is he / she supposed to be thin ")
  • obesity is only a "hormonal disorder" (" gets fat because her / his hormones work badly ")
  • obesity is a symbol of high economic status or performing a specific profession (e.g. cook, butcher) - " fat means he is doing well "

"STOP stigmatizing people with obesity"

In Poland, obesity suffers from nearly 30 percent. society, and another 40 percent. is already overweight, which means he is in a pre-obesity state. This means that overweight and obesity, if they do not concern us directly, are present in every Polish family, they are close to us. On World Obesity Day 2022, people with obesity emphasize with particular force how they want to be treated by he althy people:

  • get rid of prejudices towards me and do not judge me,
  • do not blame me for obesity, because it is a disease, not my free choice,
  • do not compare me to other obese people - my story is completely different,
  • do not comment on my illness maliciously - by doing this you are humiliating me and making it harder for me to heal,
  • treat obesity like any other disease and treat me like any other sick person .

Do you have 2nd or 3rd degree obesity? Are you looking for information on bariatric surgery , i.e. the surgical treatment of obesity? Visit the website:OBESITYpodSKALPEL

Important

Poradnikzdrowie.pl supports safe treatment and a dignified life of people suffering from obesity. This article does not contain discriminatory and stigmatizing content of people suffering from obesity.

About the authorMagdalena Gajda A specialist in obesity disease and obesity discrimination of people with diseases. President of the OD-WAGA Foundation of People with Obesity, Social Ombudsman for the Rights of People with Obesity in Poland and a representative of Poland in the European Coalition for People Living with Obesity. By profession - a journalist specializing in he alth issues, as well as a PR, social communication, storytelling and CSR specialist. Privately - obesity since childhood, after bariatric surgery in 2010. Starting weight - 136 kg, current weight - 78 kg.

Category:

Obesity