Labeling obesity as a disease may not be the best decision. Scientists have discovered that messages that describe obesity as a disease may actually undermine healthy behaviors and beliefs among obese individuals. The findings reveal a bit more about the psychology behind obesity.
"Considering that obesity is a crucial public-health issue, a more nuanced understanding of the impact of an 'obesity is a disease' message has significant implications for patient-level and policy-level outcomes," said Crystal Hoyt, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Experts have been debating the merits of, and problems with, the AMA policy--we wanted to contribute to the conversation by bringing data rather than speculation and by focusing on the psychological repercussions."
In order to better understand how labeling obesity as a disease might impact individuals, the researchers recruited over 700 participants to take part in an online survey across three different studies. The volunteers read an article related to health and weight and then answered various questions. While some participants read an article that described obesity as a disease, though, others read a standard public-health message about weight and still others read one stating that obesity is not a disease.
The researchers then calculated the body mass index of the volunteers. This allowed them to classify each person as either of average weight or obese. In the end, the researchers found that the particular message that obese volunteers read had a clear impact on their attitudes toward health, diet and weight.
So what impact did the messages have? The disease article caused people to place less importance on health-focused dieting. In addition, the volunteers reported less concern for weight relative to participants who read the other two articles. They also chose higher-calorie options when asked to pick a sandwich from a provided menu.
"Together, these findings suggest that the messages individuals hear about the nature of obesity have self-regulatory consequences," said Hoyt in a news release. "In our ongoing work, we hope to gain a greater understanding of how the 'obesity is a disease' message influences beliefs about the controllability of weight. In addition, we are also interested in investigating the role of this message in reducing stigma against the obese."
The findings are published in the journal Psychological Science.
