Childhood obesity - parental perspectives of health care counseling and weight stigma

The research focus of this dissertation is parents whose child has overweight or obesity. The aim is to investigate parents’ experiences of their child’s higher weight and its management, as well as the attitudes parents encounter, such as stigmatization in society and healthcare. My focus is on two environments: healthcare and an online discussion forum (vauva.fi), where I analyze parents’ speech and writings. I examine how parents structure and interpret encounters, negotiations, stigmatization, and conflicts in these environments.