Stuart W Flint

University of Leeds · Faculty of Medicine and Health

Weight stigma typically focuses on suggestions that people with overweight and obesity are incompetent and immoral. Integrating so far unconnected lines of research, the current research presents two studies that examine the motivational relevance of these aspects of weight stigma. Specifically, we tested the proposition that people with overweight...

Objectives This study explored the impact of COVID-19 on people identified as at high risk of severe illness by UK government, and in particular, the impact of lockdown on access to healthcare, medications and use of technological platforms. Design Online survey methodology. Setting UK. Participants 1038 UK adults were recruited who were either...

Background: Ensuring that patients have high quality, equitable experiences in healthcare is a high priority in the UK. As such, identifying and addressing areas where patient experiences are unsatisfactory and inequitable is of high priority, and has been included as part of the National Health Service (NHS) England equity objectives. Methods:...

Background Many people with overweight or obesity experience food addiction which often develops as a maladaptive coping mechanism in response to childhood trauma. The extent to which mood disorders may influence the relationship between childhood trauma and food addiction is unknown. As such, this study examined whether mood disorders mediated the...

Empirical evidence has demonstrated the complex, multifactorial nature of obesity, 1 where the causes and manifestations of obesity vary from individual-to-individual and thus, there is no one cause or combination of factors that may lead to obesity. As such, we suggest that obesity becomes pluralised (i.e., obesities) to reflect the diverse driver...

Error in the NHS England BMI Calculator

Background Weight bias exhibited by health care students may continue into their future practice, compromising the provision of care that people living with overweight or obesity receive. This highlights the need to comprehensively examine the extent to which weight bias is present among health care students and the factors that may be associated w...

Background: Weight bias exhibited by health care students may continue into their future practice, compromising the provision of care that people living with overweight or obesity receive. This highlights the need to comprehensively examine the extent to which weight bias is present among health care students and the factors that may be associated...

Background: Research has demonstrated that healthcare professionals are not immune to weight stigma attitudes, with evidence showing that people living with overweight or obesity may experience direct and indirect stigma and discrimination. This can impact the quality of care provided and impact patients' engagement in healthcare. Despite this, th...

Background People living with overweight or obesity (PLwO) can be stigmatised by healthcare professionals (HCPs). Reducing focus on weight is a proposed strategy to provide less threatening healthcare experiences. Given the lack of research on weight bias within obesity services, this study aimed to explore implicit bias among obesity specialist HC...

Background People living with overweight or obesity (PLwO) can be stigmatised by healthcare professionals (HCPs). Reducing focus on weight is a proposed strategy to provide less threatening healthcare experiences. Given the lack of research on weight bias within obesity services, this study aimed to explore implicit bias among obesity specialist HC...

Objective: To examine the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of people living with obesity, and associations with food insecurity, loneliness, and health-related behaviours. Methods: The study recruited 1187 UK adults living with obesity who completed an online survey, that examined mental health, and associations wit...

People living with obesity experience weight stigma in most social settings. This has a negative impact on their health and quality of life. A primary contributor to weight stigma is the misconception that obesity is caused by factors solely within an individual’s control. However, this disregards the complex and multifaceted nature of obesity. Wei...

Background Increased weight-related stigma during the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need to minimise the impacts on mental wellbeing. We investigated the relationship between the perceived changes in the representation of obesity in the media and mental wellbeing during the pandemic in a sample of people with obesity across 10 European countr...

Purpose Childhood trauma is associated with increased risk of obesity during adulthood, which may be associated with the development of food addiction. This study examined whether food addiction mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and obesity in young adults. Methods A sample of 512 young adults, aged 18 to 30 years, living with ove...

Evidence has accumulated to demonstrate the pervasiveness, impact and implications of weight stigma. As such, there is a need for concerted efforts to address weight stigma and discrimination that is evident within, policy, healthcare, media, workplaces, and education. The continuation of weight stigma, which is known to have a negative impact on m...

Quality of life is a key outcome that is not rigorously measured in obesity treatment research due to the lack of standardization of patient‐reported outcomes (PROs) and PRO measures (PROMs). The S.Q.O.T. initiative was founded to Standardize Quality of life measurement in Obesity Treatment. A first face‐to‐face, international, multidisciplinary co...

Purpose Childhood trauma is associated with increased risk of obesity during adulthood, which may be associated with the development of food addiction. This study examined whether food addiction mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and obesity in young adults. Methods A sample of 512 young adults, aged 18 to 30 years, living with over...

Despite evidence that formula very low‐energy diets (VLED) and low‐energy diets (LED) are both effective and safe as treatments for obesity and type 2 diabetes, these diets remain underutilized in the United Kingdom. The aim of this study was to explore UK dietitians' attitudes and experiences of using formula VLED and LED. A cross‐sectional survey...

Implicit racial bias is a persistent and pervasive challenge within healthcare education and training settings. A recent systematic review reported that 84% of included studies (31 out of 37) showed evidence of slight to strong pro-white or light skin tone bias amongst healthcare students and professionals. However, there remains a need to improve...

Background People at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 have experienced greater restrictions during the pandemic, yet there is a paucity of research exploring their lived experience. Objectives This study explored the impact of COVID-19 on people identified as at high risk of severe illness by UK Government, and in particular, the impact o...

Previous studies have explored people's perceptions of weight‐related terminology; however, to date, limited data has explored the emotional response to weight‐related terms used by healthcare professionals (HCPs). This study explored the preferences and emotional responses of terms used by HCPs to describe body weight and of parents to describe th...

Aims: The current study aimed to evaluate implementation fidelity of an Integrated Healthy Lifestyle Service (IHLS). Methods: A pragmatic sample of 28 individual interviews and 11 focus groups were conducted. This resulted in a total of 81 (22 male) individuals comprising key stakeholders (n = 18), as well as intervention staff across senior manag...

Objective To explore the #SugarTax debate on Twitter to assess actors involved, their connections and the topics being discussed during the implementation and first anniversary of the UK Soft Drink Industry Levy. Design The structure of the #SugarTax debate on Twitter was assessed using social network analysis. The actors involved, their connectio...

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to unprecedented changes in the way we live, particularly for people at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. People with pre-existing health conditions have been markedly impacted and, in some instances, left unsupported due to reduced provision of routine healthcare services. People li...

Aims The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic that has had substantial impact across societies. An attempt to reduce infection and spread of the disease, for most nations, has led to a lockdown period, where people’s movement has been restricted resulting in a consequential impact on employment...

Objective The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) is a mandatory initiative delivered in England to children in reception and year 6. To date, no research has explored the methods used to deliver the NCMP by Local Government Authorities (LGA) across England. Design An online survey was administered between February 2018 and May 2018 to exp...

In Western society, weight moralization is reflected in the belief that weight is controllable across the weight spectrum. However, the effect of holding such beliefs is unclear. We therefore propose that these beliefs affect people differently depending on their BMI. When confronted with negative, self-related feedback, people's coping strategies...

Obesity is a persistently newsworthy topic for the UK press and in recent years levels of coverage have increased. In this study, we examine the ways in which obesity has been framed by the press over a ten-year period (2008–2017), focussing both on areas of stability and change. The analysis is based on a ~36 million-word database of all UK newspa...

This is a tribute to the late Professor Edward Winter from colleagues across the sport and exercise science community

Objective: News media play a role in politics through the portrayal of policies, influencing public and policymaker perceptions of appropriate solutions. This study explored the portrayal of sugar and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes in UK national newspapers. Findings aid understanding of the role newspapers play in shaping understanding and a...

People with obesity commonly face a pervasive, resilient form of social stigma. They are often subject to discrimination in the workplace as well as in educational and healthcare settings. Research indicates that weight stigma can cause physical and psychological harm, and that affected individuals are less likely to receive adequate care. For thes...

Background: Growing evidence suggests that prolonged uninterrupted sitting can be detrimental to health. Much sedentary behaviour research is reliant on self-reports of sitting time, and sitting-reduction interventions often focus on reducing motivation to sit. These approaches assume that people are consciously aware of their sitting time. Drawin...

Technological advancement and personalized health information has led to an increase in people using and responding to wear-able technology in the last decade. These changes are often perceived to be beneficial, providing greater information and insights about health for users, organizations and healthcare and government. However, to date, understa...

Technological advancement and personalized health information has led to an increase in people using and responding to wearable technology in the last decade. These changes are often perceived to be beneficial, providing greater information and insights about health for users, organizations and healthcare and government. However, to date, understan...

Background Research exploring the impact of weight stigma in healthcare has typically focused on attitudes towards and impact on patient care. Sparse research has explored weight stigma towards healthcare professionals (HCPs). This study aimed to examine the influence of HCPs weight status on recall of medical advice (RA), and attitudes towards HC...

The pervasiveness and negative impact of weight stigma and discrimination has highlighted the need to intervene across many levels of society. Instances of discrimination impinge on peoples’ human rights and societal values of equality, raising important questions for policymakers and legislators. The ingrained nature of weight stigma and discrimin...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of managerial change in the English football industry. The authors’ theoretical discussion covers three contrasting concepts that attempt to explain the association between manager change and organizational performance (scapegoating theory, vicious circle theory and tenure and life-cycle th...

With the advancement of information technology, wearable healthcare technology has emerged as one of the promising technologies to improve the wellbeing of individuals. However, the adoption of wearable healthcare technology has lagged when compared to other well-established durable technology products, such as smartphones and tablets, because of t...

Technological advancement and personalized health information has led to an increase in people using and responding to wearable technology in the last decade.. These changes are often perceived to be beneficial, providing greater information and insights about health for users, organizations and healthcare and government. However, to date, understa...

Urban exergames are played in the real-world environment using built-in mobile phone sensors. The influence of Pokémon Go on physical activity and sitting time has been examined previously, however limited research has explored motivations for using the application. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore Pokémon Go users’ motivations for using...

Objective Unhealthy food and drink consumption is associated with a range of physical and mental health concerns. In response, public health policies have been developed targeting a reduction in obesity in particular. In the present commentary we argue that government–industry partnerships have reduced the effectiveness of resultant policies and ex...

Urban exergames are played in the real-world environment using built-in mobile phone sensors. The influence of Pokémon Go on physical activity and sitting time has been examined previously, however limited research has explored motivations for using the application. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore Pokémon Go users’ motivations for using...

Over time, there has been a steady increase of workplace health promotion programs that aim to promote employees' health and fitness. Previous research has focused on such program's effectiveness, cost-savings, and barriers to engaging in workplace health promotion. The present research focuses on a downside of workplace health promotion programs t...

Despite literature exploring interventions and strategies to encourage exercise adoption and maintenance, the drop-out rate of irregular exercisers, particularly within the first 6 months of adoption, continues to reduce the effectiveness of such interventions. Whilst a body of literature exists exploring the drop-out profile of clinical patients,...

The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) measures the prevalence of childhood obesity in England. The guidelines recommend that parents receive feedback and thus, the NCMP offers a platform for childhood obesity interventions. However, there appears to be varied practice and management of the NCMP across Local Authorities (LAs). Thus, the ai...

The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) is delivered by all English Local Authorities (LAs). The programme measures the body mass index of children aged 4-5 (RY) and 10-11 years (Y6) to identify the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity. The NCMP can be adapted, delivered and fed back through a range of methods. The aim of this res...

Objective: The objective was to examine differences in physical activity, sitting time and perceptions of physical activity and health between Pokémon Go users and nonusers at baseline (launch of the application in the United Kingdom) and 3-month follow-up. Materials and methods: The self-administered, short version of the 7-day recall, Internat...

The aim of this paper was to explore commonalities between HIV/AIDS-related conditions, obesity and other disabling impairments as health-related barriers that limit opportunity and advancement in society and the workplace. Taking a number of examples from original fieldwork and European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) law, we posited that ‘disa...

We aimed to examine whether perceived controllability of obesity predicted public support for anti-weight discrimination legislation. 171 respondents from Suffolk County in England (88% female, 97% white) aged 45 years (Med, IQR = 17.5) with BMI 31.9 kg.m2 (Med, IQR = 21) participated. Respondents completed the Fat Phobia Scale (M = 3.6, SD = 0.6;...

Objective Three dimensional (3D) surface imaging is a viable alternative to traditional body morphology measures, but the feasibility of using this technique with people with obesity has not been fully established. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the validity, repeatability and acceptability of a consumer depth camera 3D surface...

In response to ‘Are Big Food’s corporate social responsibility strategies valuable to communities? A qualitative study with parents and children’ by Richards and Phillipson - Stuart W Flint

This chapter will introduce you to and define physical activity and sedentary behaviour. It will highlight the low levels of the population meeting the recommendations of physical activity in the UK. Thus, interventions are needed to increase physical activity levels. Using a lifespan approach, we will introduce you to key interventions. Case studi...

Background: Current methods for tracking the progress of people with obesity towards a weight loss goal appear simple and potentially misleading. A technique to quantify change in body shape whilst visualising areas of the body where weight loss occurs would be advantageous, and has the potential to be used as a motivational tool. Three-dimensiona...

Dropout of sport is an issue in sport and public health domains. The aim of this study was to identify the potential dropout reasons of school athletes and to examine if their perception of dropout was affected by the previous dropout experience. There were 50 subjects who were divided into two groups based on their previous dropout experience (Dro...

Objective: Current UK workplace health promotion guidance recommends that employers minimize sedentary behaviors, but understanding the issues relating to prolonged workplace sitting has received little empirical attention. This study aimed to explore employees' perceptions of sitting time. Methods: Participants at a small to medium-sized UK com...

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) among normal 3-5 years old preschool children in Hong Kong. Methods: Cross-sectional design was applied to this study. Sixty (30 female, 30 male) preschool children aged from 3 to 5 years old (mean age=4.22 ± 0.85) from lo...

Dropout of sport is an issue in sport and public health domains. The aim of this study was to identify the potential dropout reasons of school athletes and to examine if their perception of dropout was affected by the previous dropout experience. There were 50 subjects who were divided into two groups based on their previous dropout experience (Dro...

The increasing prevalence of obesity across the world is well documented as is the rise in psychopathological conditions. The association between obesity and psychopathology holds important implications for practitioners, academics, and policy-makers. Of interest is the influence of weight stigma on the development of psychopathological conditions....

The purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability and the criterion validity of a curl-up test (CUT) as a measure of core stability, core endurance and dynamic stability in kindergarten children. CUT performance was also compared to half hold lying test (HHLT) and walking time on course (WTC) among without obstacle, with low obst...

Grey and colleagues identify the frequency and breadth of academic spam received by mid-career academics.1 These emails aim to deliberately mislead academics and to earn money through unethical practice. The concern goes beyond mid-career academics: many researchers early in their career and even postgraduate students receive …

Objective: This study used a cross-sectional experimental design to assess musculoskeletal strength, body composition and physical activity levels in Hong Kong Chinese dragon boat paddlers, rugby team players and controls. Methods: Sixty undergraduate male students (rugby players, n=20, dragon boat, n=20 and controls, n=20) were recruited from a lo...

Background: Recreation therapy (RT) provides a flexible and powerful treatment for depression associated with aging. This article reviewed the effectiveness of RT to treat depression in older adults. Method: Five electronic databases were employed to identify interventional studies on RT in depressed older adults: Pubmed, PsycINFO, ProQuest, Academ...

Amateur players far outnumbered professional athletes, but they are often under shadowed in literature. Unlike professional athletes, amateur players may not possess the resources, knowledge or guidance in treating sports injuries. Soccer is one of the popular sports with fewer literature addressing amateur players. Quantitative method was used for...

Abstract Reviews on the relationships between functional health and physical activity of general older adults have been well documented in literature. However, specific age range of older adults, in particular, older adults of 75 years or above, is currently under-examined. A systematic review was conducted to investigate the effects of physic...