Giving obese Australians a voice

The physical risks of obesity are well known, but what about the emotional burdens of depression, discrimination and humiliation? To answer this question, Monash University's Professor Paul Komesaroff is leading a study to discover how overweight people feel about themselves and society's attitudes to them. Professor Komesaroff said it was well known that obese people often suffered from depression. "But to talk of depression only describes, quite narrowly, what it is really like to live your whole life with high levels of social disapproval," he said.

The physical risks of obesity are well known, but what about the emotional burdens of depression, discrimination and humiliation? To answer this question, Monash University's Professor Paul Komesaroff is leading a study to discover how overweight people feel about themselves and society's attitudes to them. Professor Komesaroff said it was well known that obese people often suffered from depression. "But to talk of depression only describes, quite narrowly, what it is really like to live your whole life with high levels of social disapproval," he said."Overweight people are often reviled and humiliated their whole lives. Public debates and comments often don't help and they tend to criminalise the victims; the overweight. They project an image of overweight people as lazy, fat slobs who, if they used some willpower, would not be overweight. "The reality is that obese people often battle with weight their entire lives," said Professor Komesaroff, who is the Director of the Monash Centre for the Study of Ethics in Medicine and Society. "The medical and health issues surrounding obesity are already being fully explored. This study is designed to examine in detail the lived experience of obesity and the nature of the relationships that develop between people living with obesity and their health professionals," Professor Komesaroff said.The outcomes of the study will contribute directly to the development of effective new public health and clinical strategies. Researcher Dr Samantha Thomas said the study would give overweight people a voice. "This research will give them the opportunity to tell their stories about what it is like to be overweight in Australia today," she said.The study, which will require 100 volunteers from Victoria for private interviews with trained researchers, may be expanded to a national survey.Bellberry Ltd, a not-for-profit human research ethics company based in South Australia, has contributed $40,000 to the research (Source: Monash University: November 2006.)