Obesity Education for Occupational Therapy Students: A Missing Piece?

Document Type (Journals)

Original Research

Abstract

People with obesity experience discrimination and stigma at the hands of healthcare workers who often fail to address associated complexities. There is an association between obesity and reduced occupational engagement; however, occupational therapists are underutilized in the field of obesity. Previous research suggests this could be due to occupational therapists receiving a lack of education in obesity. The current study aimed to determine if occupational therapy pre-registration students in the United Kingdom were receiving education in obesity, and what factors influenced whether they received education in obesity. Fifty-nine occupational therapy lecturers from across the United Kingdom completed an online survey. Sixty-six percent of occupational therapy lecturers indicated they were not teaching obesity management and weight loss interventions to occupational therapy pre-registration students. Almost 90% indicated they received no education on obesity during their pre-registration, yet the vast majority (96.6%) indicated they had worked with people with obesity. Eighty-four percent believed that creating weight loss goals was within the occupational therapy scope. According to a Spearman’s Rank Correlation, multiple factors were associated with lower levels of teaching, including unfamiliarity with weight loss interventions and low confidence when teaching obesity management and weight loss intervention. The study provides insight into the current education in obesity being provided to pre-registration occupational therapy students in the United Kingdom. The educational inconsistencies in obesity identified in the study could be inhibiting occupational therapy involvement in the field of obesity. Further guidance is needed for occupational therapy lecturers in the United Kingdom around the provision of education in obesity.

Biography

Laura Stocksborough, MSc holds a MSc from Sheffield Hallam University and a BA in Psychology and Sociology from University of Limerick, Ireland. She is a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered occupational therapist based in the UK.

Shirley Masterson-Ng, MSc, DipCOT is an Associate Head for Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EEDI) for the School of Health and Social Care at Sheffield Hallam University and teaches on the BSc and MSc Pre-reg OT programmes. She is currently completing a Doctorate in Education exploring racialised OT students’ narratives of placement experiences.

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Recommended Citation

Stocksborough, L., & Masterson-NG, S. (2026). Obesity Education for Occupational Therapy Students: A Missing Piece?. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 10 (4). Retrieved from https://encompass.eku.edu/jote/vol10/iss4/5