Health & Medicine
Study Links Weight Discrimination to Obesity
Benita Matilda
First Posted: Jul 26, 2013 08:53 AM EDT
Weight discrimination elevated the risk of obesity rather than being a motivation to reduce weight, according to a latest finding.
The study conducted by researchers from the Florida State University College of Medicine claim that 'weightism', a term coined for weight discrimination, heightens the risk of obesity and staying obese for a longer duration.
For this study the researchers Angelina Sutin and Antonio Terracciano, compared the height and weight of 600 participants from 2006-2010. The participants were enquired if they experienced any episodes of weight discrimination.
They noticed that those respondents who experienced weight discrimination were 2.5 times more likely to become obese by 2010. Also, those who faced weight discrimination in 2006 were at a risk of being obese for a longer duration when compared to those who did not face any weight discrimination.
They also noticed that differentiation based on sex and race did not have the same relation to one's weight.
Reports according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that, during the last 20 years there has been an alarming rise in the rate of obesity and the trend continues till date. More than 35.7 percent of U.S. adults and 12.5 million American children are obese.
A study by John Hopkins researchers showed that physicians were less likely to bond with overweight patients, reports HNGN.
Sutin concludes saying, "In addition to the well-known emotional and economic costs, our results suggest that weight discrimination also increases risk of obesity. This could lead to a vicious cycle where individuals who are overweight and obese are more vulnerable to weight discrimination, and this discrimination may contribute to subsequent obesity and difficulties with weight management."
The study was published in the journal PLOS One.
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First Posted: Jul 26, 2013 08:53 AM EDT
Weight discrimination elevated the risk of obesity rather than being a motivation to reduce weight, according to a latest finding.
The study conducted by researchers from the Florida State University College of Medicine claim that 'weightism', a term coined for weight discrimination, heightens the risk of obesity and staying obese for a longer duration.
For this study the researchers Angelina Sutin and Antonio Terracciano, compared the height and weight of 600 participants from 2006-2010. The participants were enquired if they experienced any episodes of weight discrimination.
They noticed that those respondents who experienced weight discrimination were 2.5 times more likely to become obese by 2010. Also, those who faced weight discrimination in 2006 were at a risk of being obese for a longer duration when compared to those who did not face any weight discrimination.
They also noticed that differentiation based on sex and race did not have the same relation to one's weight.
Reports according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that, during the last 20 years there has been an alarming rise in the rate of obesity and the trend continues till date. More than 35.7 percent of U.S. adults and 12.5 million American children are obese.
A study by John Hopkins researchers showed that physicians were less likely to bond with overweight patients, reports HNGN.
Sutin concludes saying, "In addition to the well-known emotional and economic costs, our results suggest that weight discrimination also increases risk of obesity. This could lead to a vicious cycle where individuals who are overweight and obese are more vulnerable to weight discrimination, and this discrimination may contribute to subsequent obesity and difficulties with weight management."
The study was published in the journal PLOS One.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone