Conference: Weight stigma among children and young people

Children and adolescents with high weight experience stigmatization and discrimination everywhere they go: in the family, at daycare, at school, and in encounters with professionals.

Get the latest knowledge about the stigmatization of children and adolescents with high weight and its consequences, and see good examples of campaigns and initiatives that work.

Program

• 9:15-10:00: Arrival and registration
   
• 10:00-10:15: Welcome
  • Morten Grønbæk, Center for Healthy Living and Well-being
  • Jens Meldgaard Bruun, National Center for Overweight
  • Janne Tolstrup, Knowledge Centre for Prevention
• 10:15-10:30: When stigma shapes childhood
  • Benedikte Jensen, Chair of the Obesity Association
• 10:30-11:20: What do we know about weight stigmatization of children and adolescents?
  Key points from the report Weight Stigmatization from the Knowledge Centre for Prevention.
  • Janne Tolstrup, National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark: Weight stigmatization is widespread and must be prevented.
  • Lene Bull Christiansen, Roskilde University: When culture turns into prejudice and stigmatization.
  • Pernille Andreassen, National Center for Overweight: Weight stigmatization among children and possibilities for prevention.
• 11:20-11:30: Networking
   
• 11:30-11:45: What are the consequences of overweight in childhood?
  • Jane Greve, VIVE – The National Centre for Social Research: What overweight and severe overweight among children and adolescents means for their well-being and school performance.
• 11:45-12:30: Lunch break
   
• 12:30-13:40: How to prevent stigmatization
  Examples of initiatives in families, associations, schools, and encounters with professionals.Dan Grabowski, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, and Lene Michaelsen, City of Copenhagen: Practical work on weight stigma in families.
  • Martin Marchmann, National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark: Developing a series of courses to better equip professionals to avoid stigmatization in encounters with citizens. What are the challenges?
  • Mathias Beier Hougaard, Association for Eating Disorders and Self-Harm: Project Spejlven – Aims to give 6th graders more nuanced and realistic body ideals, including by involving adults around the children.
  • Kamma Lauridsen and Morten Skydsgaard, Science Museums, Aarhus University: Exhibition Dear Body, Difficult Body – Focuses on bodies and body ideals, inviting the oldest school classes to reflection, involvement, and debate.
• 13:40-14:20: Coffee, cake, and … music
   
• 14:20-15:10: Panel debate: How do we create change for tomorrow?
  Everyone can contribute to strengthening prevention, but where do we start?
  Debate with representatives from Parliament, authorities, municipalities, and associations.
  Panelists: Mathilde Powers, Health Committee of Parliament, Niels Sandø, Danish Health Authority, Karin Ingemann, Danish Sports Federation, Sara Bach Nielsen, Danish School Students, Tine Sjørup, school leader in Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality, and Kirsten Birk, Professional Association for Health Visitors.
   
• 15:10-15:30: Summary and thank you for today

The conference is ideal for staff who work with children and adolescents in schools, institutions, and associations, as well as their leaders. It is also relevant for anyone interested in discrimination and our views on the body.

The conference is organized by the National Center for Overweight, Knowledge Centre for Prevention, and Center for Healthy Living and Well-being.

Below you can watch a video from the conference.