Defining Obesity As Disease May Have Negative Psychological Impact on Overweight People

Treating obesity as a disease can have a negative impact on the minds of  over-weight people, says a study.  

Since the time the American Medical Association confirmed obesity as a disease in June last year, it has raised several controversies. Researchers from the University of Minnesota and University of Richmond did an exploratory study to explain the after effects of labeling obesity as a disease in over-weight people.

"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, a part of the research, in a press 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."

The researchers recruited 700 participants to determine the impact of such health messages on them. Height and weight data of the participants was collected to evaluate their body mass index and classify them as obese or average weighted, going by the WHO standards.

The participants were divided into three groups, each group was made to read an article related to health and weight. While one of the articles treated obesity as a disease the other two claimed obesity was not a disease. In the next round, the participants were asked to take part in a survey and answer questions related to health and weight.

The volunteers who read the article 'obesity is a disease' showed no inclination to follow a healthy diet, in the survey. These participants reported greater body satisfaction; less concern about their health problems and opted for calorie rich food options.

"Together, these findings suggest that the messages individuals hear about the nature of obesity have self-regulatory consequences," said Hoyt.

According to the researchers, obesity issues need to be tackled with much more sensitivity.  Defining obesity as a disease makes overweight individuals think that their condition is unchangeable, the researchers suggest.

A recent study finds North America to have highest population of obese people with one in every three people overweight