Supplementary Material for: Preferences for body weight-related terminology for people living with obesity: Results from the ACTION-DK study

Introduction: When discussing body weight with health care professionals (HCPs), people living with obesity (PwO) can feel stigmatised by specific terms. In English-speaking research settings, PwO have expressed preferences for “technical” or health-related terms (e.g., weight; Body Mass Index (BMI)), as opposed to vernacular terms (e.g., fatness), but no such studies have been conducted in a Danish linguistic and cultural setting. The aim of the present study was to investigate preferences of PwO for weight-related terminology in conversations with HCPs in a Danish context.
Methods: The study utilised survey data from the Awareness, Care, and Treatment In Obesity maNagement-Denmark (ACTION-DK) study among Danish adults with a self-reported BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2.
Results: 879 Danish adults with obesity completed the questionnaire on preferred weight-related terminology, preferred HCP communication actions in weight loss conversation, and acceptability of HCPs raising the topic of weight. Respondents preferred technical or health related, person-first terminology; weight, overweight, high BMI, and higher weight were most preferred; fat, extra large, chubby, morbid obesity, and curvy were least preferred. 71% of respondents appreciated their HCP raising the topic of weight. When prioritising HCP communication actions in weight-loss conversations, PwO emphasised empathy and respectfulness over concrete actions.
Conclusion: The present study is the first to investigate PwO preference for weight-related terminology in a Danish setting, with findings overall in support of similar international studies. The identification of specific, acceptable terms, together with the proportion of respondents appreciating their HCP raising the topic of weight, indicate that respectful conversations between PwO and HCPs about weight are possible. However, HCPs should always enquire about an individual’s preferences.

引言：在与医疗保健从业者（health care professionals, HCPs）讨论体重相关话题时，肥胖人群（people living with obesity, PwO）可能会因特定术语而遭受污名化。在英语研究场景中，肥胖人群已明确表达出对“技术类”或健康相关术语（如体重、身体质量指数（Body Mass Index, BMI））的偏好，而非通俗表述（如“肥胖”），但丹麦语言与文化语境下尚未开展此类研究。本研究的目的为探究丹麦语境下，肥胖人群在与医疗保健从业者交流时对体重相关术语的偏好。
研究方法：本研究采用肥胖管理认知、照护与治疗-丹麦（Awareness, Care, and Treatment In Obesity maNagement-Denmark, ACTION-DK）研究的调查数据，研究对象为自我报告身体质量指数≥30.0 kg/m²的丹麦成年人群体。
研究结果：共有879名丹麦肥胖成年人完成了本次调查问卷，问卷内容涵盖体重相关术语偏好、减重对话中医疗保健从业者的沟通行为偏好，以及医疗保健从业者提及体重话题的接受度。受访者更倾向于选择技术类或健康相关、以人为本的术语，其中体重、超重、高身体质量指数以及体重偏高为最受偏好的术语；口语化表述如“肥胖”、俚俗表述如“超大体型”“圆胖”、“病态肥胖”以及俚俗指代丰腴的“曲线美”为最不受偏好的术语。71%的受访者认可医疗保健从业者主动提及体重话题。在对减重对话中的医疗保健从业者沟通行为进行优先级排序时，肥胖人群更看重共情与尊重，而非具体的操作行为。
研究结论：本研究为丹麦语境下首个探究肥胖人群对体重相关术语偏好的研究，整体研究结果与国际同类研究结论一致。通过明确可接受的特定术语，以及认可医疗保健从业者提及体重话题的受访者占比，均表明肥胖人群与医疗保健从业者之间开展关于体重的尊重性沟通是可行的。但医疗保健从业者仍应主动询问个体的具体偏好。