Environmental Scan of Weight Bias Exposure in Primary Health Care Training Programs

Negative attitudes and beliefs about individuals with obesity (also known as weight bias) have negative consequences for physical and mental health for individuals with obesity and impact the quality of care provided by health professionals. A preliminary environmental scan of college and university training programs was conducted consisting of 67 degree and diploma granting programs from 22 institutions in Alberta, targeting programs training future health professionals. Publicly available online course descriptions were examined for weight-related keywords. Keyword frequency was used to determine the extent that coursework addressed weight-related issues. The results suggested that courses are structured to include learning about general health promotion as well as lifestyle factors that may contribute to obesity but may not systematically include learning about weight bias or its potential impact. Our findings highlight the need for further in-depth investigations as well as the need to enhance current curricula in higher education by including information related to weight, obesity and weight bias.