Teasing obese people might cause more weight gain, research finds
Hurling insults or jokes at overweight individuals in an attempt to help them shed pounds might actually backfire, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee found this type discrimination – called "weightism" – can cause individuals to actually put on more weight.
"In addition to the well-known emotional and economic costs, our results suggest that weight discrimination also increases risk of obesity," wrote the researchers.
Weightism victims more likely to gain than people who are not teased
For the study, researchers enlisted 6,000 participants and took weight measurements in 2006 and 2010. The participants were surveyed about their previous experiences with weight victimization or weightism.
Results showed people who had experienced weightism were 2.5 times more likely to become obese by the time they weighed in the second time in 2010. This remained true even after the researchers accounted for things like age, ethnicity, education level and baseline body mass index at the start of the study.
People who were obese at the study's beginning and had experienced weightism were also three times more likely to remain obese at the end of the study than obese individuals who had not experienced the discrimination.
Other risks
In addition to the risk for weight gain, weightism through things like teasing or judgmental comments also increases risk for eating disorders, the study authors noted:
There is robust evidence that internalizing weight-based stereotypes, teasing and stigmatizing experiences are associated with more frequent binge eating. Overeating is a common emotion-regulation strategy, and those who feel the stress of stigmatization report that they cope with it by eating more.
Calling for more "creative" approaches in battling weight discrimination, the researchers also said some weightism comes from doctors who are trying to encourage patients to drop pounds.
The study is published in PLOS One.
Source: CBS News
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