Weight Stigma Among Medical Students

Abstract

The prevalence of obesity is increasing throughout the world, including Indonesia. Research on weight stigma is still minimal in Indonesia. The aim of this study is to obtain an overview of weight stigma among medical students. This research uses quantitative methods, the population is 145 and the sample size is 95. The measurement used is the Anti-Fat Attitude Test (AFAT) which has been translated into Indonesian. The result shows that 69.5% of medical students have high weight stigma. The three factors measured are social disparagement, physical/romantic unattractiveness and weight control, generally show high results with percentages that are not much different. However, for female respondents, weight bias tends to be higher 77.7% and the highest factor is weight control. This indicates that female medical students believe that being fat is a personal responsibility and there is no acceptable reason for being fat. In previous research, weight bias had an influence in treating obese patients, included quality of service, patient-doctor relations, psychological well-being and clinical decisions. It is recommended to conduct further research to see the impact of weight bias in health services in Indonesia and the need for education to reduce weight biases