Despite decades of research demonstrating the negative impact of weight bias on health and quality of life, we’ve only see a handful of effective ways to reduce it.
In May 2016, Obesity Canada (then known as The Canadian Obesity Network) invited 42 participants from across Canada and the United States to develop practical weight bias reduction approaches as well as strategies to better evaluate the impact of efforts made locally, provincially and nationally through research, education and action. Participants in the 3rd Canadian Weight Bias Summit included individuals living with obesity, researchers studying weight bias, health professionals, civil servants and other experts whose experience and expertise were seen as relevant to the discussion (e.g., perspectives from the HIV-AIDs and LGBTQ communities). The 1st and 2nd Canadian Weight Bias Summits in 2011 and 2015 focused on raising awareness about weight bias and identifying areas where more research can guide what we do about it. The objective of the 3rd Summit took a more practical approach to create opportunities for future action.
Click here to read a published summary in Obesity Reports (November, 2017).
