Labelling obesity a disease ‘is an excuse not to diet’
DESCRIBING obesity as a disease could be making people fatter.
A study found that overweight men and women who are told obesity is a disease are less interested in going on a diet to improve their health and find fatty, calorie-laden foods more attractive.
Researchers said that ‘medicalising’ obesity may suggest people have no control over their weight, making them less concerned about their bodies and less likely to cut back on calories.
The warning comes amid concern that we are too quick to slap a medical label on problems related to lifestyle.
A declaration by the American Medical Association last summer classified obesity as a disease. The decision was seen as a way of making doctors take the problem more seriously and reducing its social stigma.
But critics questioned whether it was right to label all obese Americans – a third of the adult population – as being ill.
University of Minnesota researchers asked more than 700 adults to read one of three articles. One was a real cutting from the New York Times about the
Clear effect on
attitude
move to classify obesity as a disease. A second article focused on tips for managing weight, including a weekly weighin and varied exercise. The third piece argued that obesity is not a disease and emphasised the importance of a person’s lifestyle to their health.
Participants then answered questions about dieting. They were also given a sandwich menu and asked which of the snacks they would like to order.
The study showed the articles had a clear effect on the attitude of those who were dangerously overweight.
Obese men and women who read that obesity was a disease saw dieting for health as less important than those who read other articles. They were also less concerned about their weight and chose sandwiches containing more calories.
Writing in the journal Psychological Science, the researchers said: ‘Together, these findings suggest that messages … about the nature of obesity have self-regulatory consequences.’
More than a quarter of adults in England are obese. Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said obesity is a disease – but that the message should be delivered more sensitively than in the study.