Changes in anti-fat attitudes among undergraduate nursing students

Abstract

Background: The number of people with obesity has been increasing significantly in recent decades. Nursing students play a role in the care of obese patients, but the presence of a stigma regarding this patient group reduces the quality of care due to a climate of mistrust and lack of expectations.

Objectives: To analyse if the anti-fat attitudes of nursing students at the Faculty of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry at Universidad de Sevilla (Spain) change during their degree training.

Design: A cross-sectional study was carried out.

Settings: Undergraduate nursing institution in Spain.

Participants: 578 nursing students enrolled at the Faculty in all academic years, from the first through the fourth.

Methods: Following ethical approval, each participant took part in an individual self-report via the Anti-Fat Attitudes (AFA) Questionnaire, in its validated Spanish version.

Results: The mean standardised AFA total was 2.29.; by domains: 1.29 in Dislike, 2.87 in Fear of fat, and 3.73 in Willpower. Analysis of variance tests showed significant differences in the AFA total score and domains by sex and academic year. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that the highest prejudices were shown by enrolled participants in their first year, particularly when the AFA total score was considered.

Conclusions: Nursing students at the Faculty do not have many prejudices towards obese people. Anti-obesity attitudes among nursing students decrease as the students progress in their degree, implying that the specific training received (degree curriculum) also enables students to develop their non-technical skills.