Iatrogenia and Obesity Stigma

Abstract

A brief description of obesity is presented in order to analyze the meanings of obesity in health professionals and the otherness that surrounds the subject and causes iatrogeny. Clinical care with obese people reveals how the stigma of obesity becomes iatrogenic. This article presents scenes in which the stigma of obesity is narrated as suffering of obese women seeking care in Salvador, Bahia. Anxiety, suffering, inadequacy, moral exhaustion and prejudice are some of the meanings of obesity known in this study. The patients appear obese and misunderstood. It is concluded on the need for a humanistic-ethical to reorient professional practices in health specifically obesity, with the purpose of taking care of and avoiding the aggravation of problem.  Key Words: Obesity; Iatrogenic; Stigma of obesity; Health professionals