Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

The purpose of this application is to request funds to attend and present at the Sparking Population Health Solutions: Research for a Healthier Future - An International Summit to be held in Ottawa, Canada on April 25-28, 2016. At this conference, I will present findings from my doctoral research study focused on weight bias and public health. Research indicates that public health obesity prevention initiatives often fail to recognize the complexity of obesity and that individuals with obesity perceive such initiatives as overly simplistic, disempowering and stigmatizing. We also know that obesity stigma can increase morbidity and mortality and produce health and social inequalities. My research engaged individuals with obesity and public health policy makers in a narrative inquiry to examine their experiences with obesity, weight bias and stigma. My findings indicate that there are tensions between narratives of public health professionals and the stories of people with obesity. Simplistic obesity prevention models do not align with the experiences of the people we are trying to reach through public health obesity prevention programs. People with obesity struggle with these approaches because they create oppressive social identities and impact their experiences with the public, the media, and health professionals. By sharing these obesity narratives at this conference, I want to encourage critical reflection on public health practice for obesity prevention and create possibilities for personal, practice and social change. I will also discuss strategies that can be used to eliminate narratives that create oppressive identities for people with obesity.