Nutritional care modality with a perspective of body diversity in a public hospital

Abstract

Introduction: since the first decades of the twentieth century, the focus on health care has been characterized by a weight-centric model, considering body weight as a sufficient indicator to separate people into healthy or sick. This simplistic approach does not consider other factors and aspects that make up the integral conception of health.

Materials and method: the experience of a new non-eight-centric care modality in a public hospital in the province of Buenos Aires is presented. The nutritional care model consisted of a first group and face-to-face meeting on healthy eating, with the possibility of individual follow-up by an outpatient clinic. To achieve the mainstreaming of the perspective of body diversity within our effector, awareness meetings were held for the health team.

Results: between the months of April 2022 and December 2023, twenty workshops were held with 843 people summoned, with 55% attendance and an average of 23 participants per workshop. Of the total number of people who attended, 192 responded to the pre-workshop survey where 13% reported having felt discriminated against because of their weight or body and 56% having received an indication focused on weight in the establishment. 48% subsequently attended the individual consultation. Regarding the sensitization of the health team, three meetings were held with 58 professionals from different specialties.

Conclusion: it is considered important to advance in initiatives that promote the comprehensive perspective of care for equality and non-discrimination of fat people. From our experience, we contribute to a change in the weight-entric perspective, which does not consider weight loss as the only solution to multiple conditions, and contemplates other aspects that make up integral health.