Groups are regularly used to deliver healthcare services, including the management of obesity, and
there is growing evidence that patients’ experiences of such groups fundamentally shape treatment
effects. This study investigated factors related to patients’ shared social identity formed within the
context of a treatment group for ...
Groups are regularly used to deliver healthcare services, including the management of obesity, and
there is growing evidence that patients’ experiences of such groups fundamentally shape treatment
effects. This study investigated factors related to patients’ shared social identity formed within the
context of a treatment group for the management of severe obesity. A cross-sectional survey was
administered to patients registered with a UK medical obesity service and enrolled on a group-based
education and support programme. Patients (N=78; MBMI = 48 on entry to the service) completed
measures of group demographics (e.g., group membership continuity) and psychosocial variables
(e.g., past experiences of weight discrimination), and reported their social identification with the
treatment group. The results showed that patients identified with the treatment group to the extent
that there was continuity in membership across the programme and they perceived themselves more
centrally in terms of their weight status. Weight centrality was negatively associated with external
social support and positively associated with experiences of weight discrimination. Group continuity
was positively correlated with session attendance frequency. Patients presenting to clinical treatment
services with severe obesity often do so after sustained weight loss failure and exposure to negative
societal experiences. This study highlights that providing a treatment environment wherein these
experiences can be shared with other patients may provide common ground for development of a
new, positive social identity that can structure programme engagement and progression.
