People First

Person-first language involves putting people first, rather than labelling them by their disease or disability, and it has become an established standard for respectfully addressing people with diseases or illnesses.

Using person-first language is a way to emphasise that the disease is only one part of the whole person, describing what the person ‘has’ rather than what the person ‘is’. Just as you would not say that a person with cancer is ‘cancerous’, but that they ‘have cancer’, you should also say ‘he has diabetes’ or ‘she has obesity’, instead of ‘he is a diabetic’ or ‘she is obese’. 

Words have power. Positive language promotes inclusion and reduces stigma. Please use person-first language.

See also this newsletter published by the ICPO for living with Obesity day in 2020: