Are you ready to confront the shame and stigma surrounding obesity? Want to join a community that empowers your bariatric journey? 

In this episode, straight from the ASMBS conference in Washington, DC, we unpack the Mason Lecture’s powerful insights on easing shame and stigma in obesity care. We delve into how these barriers hinder treatment, fuel weight regain, and even originate from medical providers, while highlighting how our patient community inspires us to overcome these challenges. 

Tune in, and don’t forget to join the BariNation Community to attend community meetups, watch exclusive bonus content and support the podcast for as little as $5 per month!  You can also contribute to BariNation and become a Drive To Thrive Supporter with a one-time donation.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• (00:45) The significance of the Mason Lecture and its focus, and how stigma comes from society, family, and medical providers.
• (02:45) Research shows that shame and stigma can lead to weight recurrence 
• (06:45) Patients are often more stigmatized after choosing obesity treatment
• (08:00) Emphasis on how peer support and patient community are essential tools for healing and overcoming shame
• (09:15) Research validates patient experiences with shame and stigma
• (13:10) Join the BariNation Community to receive the support you deserve

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Shame and stigma—especially from medical providers—are significant barriers to obesity treatment. Patients with obesity face both internal and external shame that not only discourages them from seeking care but can also increase the risk of weight regain after treatment. Research shows that a significant portion of this stigma originates from the very healthcare professionals meant to support them.
• Obesity treatment can ironically increase stigma. Even after choosing medical or surgical intervention, patients often feel greater judgment and isolation, leading many to keep their treatment decisions secret. The societal narrative shifts from blaming people for their weight to blaming them for how they address it, making shame a persistent issue regardless of treatment status.
•  While systemic changes in research, policy, and provider education are crucial, the most immediate and effective support comes from community connection. Sharing experiences with others who understand the journey helps reduce the power of shame, fosters acceptance, and creates a space where patients can truly feel seen and supported.

RESOURCES:

• BariNation Website 
• BariNation - Email

ABOUT:

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Jason Smith: [00:00:00] Hi. Welcome to BariNation, where we support the bariatric community with humor, humility, and honesty.

Natalie Tierney: Our goal is you leave us today feeling hopeful, inspired, and ready to live your best bariatric life.

This year's keynote address was on this year's topic, which is reducing the shame and stigma that we can [00:01:00] all experience as we are undergoing obesity care and treatment. Dr. Mason was kind of the founder of A-S-M-B-S. Uh, and this tradition has carried forward every year since the society's inception. So the [00:01:15] Mason Mason lecture is a, it's a big deal, and the information and the research presented there is important.

Uh, so Christine Mason and Mel Linde, they're here with me. We, we were at this lecture together. We just felt it was so important that we get this information to you because it really has the ability to [00:02:00] change how you live with the disease of obesity. So you might be seeing me look down. I, I have my variation notebook here because we, we all took notes as, as this researcher [00:02:15] was, was speaking.

Research is showing now that internal or external stigma or blame or [00:03:00] shame that we're feeling not only prevents us from onboarding treatment, but once treatment is onboarded, it can lead directly to weight recurrence. That shame and that stigma that we experience [00:03:15] builds stress in our lives. And we reach this point of stress where we turn to coping mechanisms to help us just keep going.

The numbers that this [00:04:00] researcher has presented and the numbers that we learned at at yesterday's keynote address said that a big chunk of the shame and stigma that patients feel actually come from the medical provider. So at today's keynote address, the [00:04:15] three of us were sitting right next to each other and we kept taking in this information, and then we were doing one of these, right?

So experiencing, you know, shame and stigma really does prevent us from. Not only onboarding that treatment, but continuing [00:05:00] treatment. I'm gonna refer to my notes here again. One of the big takeaways for me was this higher level of stress feeds into the [00:05:15] disease that you are working so hard to battle. And the research that she presented today, which we will share out with you all as soon as we have it, is that right?

So many people in our community choose not to tell anybody that they're undergoing surgery. They choose to not tell anybody that they're onboarding a GLP one medication or they've accessed that [00:06:00] medication maybe outside of their current health system, right? They've opted to go for the, the, the compounded, uh, route, let's say they're not telling anybody isolation, right?

The, the ironic nature of this disease and the impact of shame and stigma is that you are stigmatized because of the disease, but then you almost face more stigma once you've made the decision to treat the [00:06:45] disease. There is no other disease on the planet where you see this increase of internal and external stigma and bias than you do in people who have the disease of obesity.

It's ensuring that clinicians understand that shame and stigma absolutely can, can come from them, uh, and policy changes. All wonderful things, right? All wonderful things. [00:07:30] But as a patient who has been living with the disease my entire life, and now as someone who is vocal and advocates for improved access to care, I know those numbers to be true.[00:07:45]

Right, or who is worried about fitting in a restaurant booth who has lost an excessive amount of weight, but still struggles with body issues, body acceptance, it's real. And the only [00:08:30] thing that has helped me in my journey is other patients. It's other patients. This year, friends, the patient voice is so loudly represented here.

So what can we do with this information? Well, we can really dive in to the impacts that shame and stigma has. Not only on on us internally, but [00:09:30] but on us emotionally, mentally, right? Shame and stigma cause a physical, medical, right biologic response and it causes an emotional response, and those responses are not usually positive.

We can connect with experts who have proven themselves to work hard to never shame [00:10:15] or stigmatize patients. We can have conversations, we can share experiences, we can be present in one another's discomfort, and we can meet that discomfort with [00:10:30] joy and love and true acceptance. So if you are feeling.

Join our newsletter list. Become a member of the community 'cause we're gonna [00:11:00] share all of this research out with you and join Berry Nation. It is the missing piece to this shame and stigma puzzle. But when you can share these experiences where [00:11:15] you can say this, the scary thing out loud, where you can confront that bias and that stigma in real time with other people, it loses its power, it loses, its its oomph, right?

Everybody does one [00:11:45] of these things. Oh,

We're so excited to bring you all of this education, all of this research very soon, and we are just so thankful. For an opportunity to have a seat [00:12:30] at the table, to be where the research is being done and to be surrounded by so many clinicians, surgeons, registered dieticians, nurse PAs, right? Anybody who is here to help patients [00:12:45] treat the disease of obesity, they're here.

Hope you guys have a great week. We'll talk to you soon.[00:13:30]

Natalie Tierney: Join us@barination.mn.co.

If you found this podcast valuable, help us produce it by becoming a $5 monthly supporter@barinationpodcast.com.