Discussing weight

Who is this guidance intended for?

This guidance is intended to support the work of healthcare professionals by facilitating the discussion about weight with clients. It provides practical advice and tools to help professionals engage in conversations in a sensitive manner and with due consideration for each client’s individual needs.

The guidance includes separate recommendations for professionals working with adults and with children and families with children, as the approach and emphasis of the discussion vary depending on the target group.

This guidance is a recommendation, and its aim is to promote respectful, strengths‑based and non‑stigmatising interaction.

Discussing weight – a respectful and encouraging approach

Discussions related to weight are sensitive and require tact and sensitivity from professionals. Meeting the client in an encouraging way, listening to their needs and strengthening their resources are essential. Prepared questions, reflection on one’s own practice and ensuring access to support help to ensure that the discussion promotes the client’s wellbeing.

Key principles

Sensitivity and respect: Acknowledge the sensitivity of the topic. Use neutral terms such as weight. Pay attention to the terms used by the client themselves.
Collaboration and dialogue: Create an open, respectful and appreciative atmosphere in which the client feels heard and accepted.
Individuality: Take into account and respect the client’s autonomy, life situation and individual needs.
Strengthening self‑efficacy: Use a strengths‑based and solution‑focused approach. Highlight successful actions and use them to support change.
Focus on wellbeing: Focus on overall wellbeing rather than weight alone.
Solution‑focused approach: Emphasise concrete, realistic steps and the client’s own opportunities.
Tools: Use prepared questions, indicators and support materials.
Professional self‑reflection: Reflect on your own practice and ensure that the support offered is accessible and encouraging.

Discussing weight with adults

Discussing weight is a sensitive issue that requires a respectful and sensitive approach. Appropriate language and ways of initiating the discussion can help reduce stigma and shame related to obesity. The aim is to provide professionals with practical ways to discuss weight while taking the client’s individual situation into account, offering encouragement and strengthening personal resources.

A solution‑focused and collaborative approach is central to discussions. The discussion is based on the client’s needs and on strengthening their sense of capability. Prepared questions and tools help to build a dialogue in which the client feel valued and involved. Professionals should reflect on their own practice and ensure that the support offered is realistic and accessible.

Further information

Discussing weight – A guide (Julkari, in Finnish)

Discussing weight with children and families with children

Discussions related to weight with families with children require particular sensitivity. The discussion should be directed primarily at the parents, not the child. The aim is to support the wellbeing of the whole family and the smooth functioning of everyday life.

The professional’s role is to strengthen the parent’s sense of capability and to provide positive feedback. The discussion emphasises a solution‑focused approach: what the family is already doing well, what small changes could be added to everyday life, and what kind of support the family feels it needs. Discussing weight is not a one‑off action, but part of ongoing collaboration that respects the family’s own pace and choices.

Acknowledging and verbalizing the parent’s emotions is essential in the discussion. Information and guidance are provided only as needed and are linked to the family’s everyday life. In this way, the wellbeing of the child and the family can be promoted without blame or feelings of shame.