Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33296298›Full record

ArticleHealth promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice

Discrimination in the health care system among higher-weight adults: evidence from a Canadian national cross-sectional survey.

Neeru Gupta, Andrea Bombak, Ismael Foroughi, Natalie Riediger

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
3.9field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
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  4. From education to patient care: the impact of weight stigma in healthcare.Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center) · 2025
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Neeru GuptaDepartment of Sociology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.
Andrea BombakDepartment of Sociology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.
Ismael ForoughiDepartment of Sociology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.
Natalie RiedigerDepartment of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
University of New Brunswick · CAUniversity of Manitoba · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionWeight-related social stigma is associated with adverse health outcomes. Health care systems are not exempt of weight stigma, which includes stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination. The objective of this study was to examine the association between body mass index (BMI) class and experiencing discrimination in health care.

methodsWe used data from the 2013 Canadian Community Health Survey, which included measurements of discrimination never collected previously on a national scale. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the risk of self-reported discrimination in health care in adults (≥18 years) across weight categories: not obese (BMI < 30 kg/m2), obese class I (BMI = 30-< 35 kg/m2) and obese class II or III (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2).

resultsOne in 15 (6.4%; 95% CI: 5.7-7.0%) of the adult population reported discrimination in a health care setting (e.g. physician's office, clinic or hospital). Compared with those in the not obese group, the risk of discrimination in health care was somewhat higher among those in the class I obesity category (odds ratio [OR] = 1.20; 95% CI: 1.00-1.44) and significantly higher among those in class II/III (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.21-1.91), after controlling for sex, age and other socioeconomic characteristics.

conclusionQuantified experiences of weight-related discrimination underscore the need to change practitioner attitudes and practices as well as the policies and procedures of the health care system. More research is needed on the social and economic impacts of weight stigma to inform focused investments for reducing discrimination in the health care system as a microcosm of the society it reflects.

Indexed as

Attitude of Health PersonnelObesitySocial DiscriminationSocial StigmaAdultBody Mass IndexCanadaFemaleHealth Services Needs and DemandHealth Status DisparitiesHealth SurveysHumansMalePractice Patterns, Physicians'PsychologySocial Perceptionattitude of health personnelbody weighthealth surveysobesitysocial discriminationsocial discrimination of healthsocial stigma

Identifiers

PMID33296298
PMCPMC7745830
OpenAlexW3083742712

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.