Calling People Fat may Make Them Gain More Weight

A new study published in the journal PLOS One suggests that calling someone fat not only affects them mentally but also increases their risk of obesity. Researchers at Florida State University College of Medicine followed more than 6,100 people, who took part in the Health and Retirement Study in 2006 and 2010, and looked at how both obese people and those who admitted they faced discrimination for their weight were affected.

The researchers found that those who were obese during the initial survey were three times more likely to remain obese during the follow-up survey while those who faced discrimination for their weight were 2.5 times more likely to be obese in the follow-up survey.

“Weight discrimination, which is often justified because it is thought to help encourage obese individuals to lose weight, can actually have the opposite effect: it is associated with the development and maintenance of obesity. Such discrimination is one social determinant of health that may contribute to inequities in employment, relationships, healthcare delivery, and body weight”, the researchers wrote in their report.//


Source-Medindia