Obesity, stigma, and person-centered language: A serial cross-sectional analysis of scientific literature.

Objective: Language can influence societal perceptions of medical conditions. The employment of person-centered language (PCL) in health care is reflected in many scientific publications; however, the extent of this adaptation in reference to obesity is unknown.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included a systematic search of PubMed obesity-related articles across four cohorts spanning January 2004 through December 2006; January 2008 through December 2010; January 2015 through December 2018; and January 2019 through May 2020, respectively.