"Fat shaming" does not encourage individuals to lose weight, a new study suggests.
Researchers looked at 2,944 U.K. adults over a 4-year period who reported experiencing weight discrimination, and found these individuals actually tended to gain more weight, University College London reported.
The research was part of a population study and not an experimental study, so it cannot conclusively confirm the association between discrimination and weight gain is causal. To make their findings the researchers assessed discrimination two years after the initial weight measurements and two years before the final measurements; all of the data was statistically controlled for outside influences.
The data looked at adults aged 50 or older. Out of 2,944 participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, 5 percent reported weight discrimination. Less than one percent of these individuals were in the "normal weight" category, and 36 percent were classified as "morbidly obese."
"There is no justification for discriminating against people because of their weight," said lead author Dr. Sarah Jackson (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health). "Our results show that weight discrimination does not encourage weight loss, and suggest that it may even exacerbate weight gain.
"Previous studies have found that people who experience discrimination report comfort eating. Stress responses to discrimination can increase appetite, particularly for unhealthy, energy-dense food. Weight discrimination has also been shown to make people feel less confident about taking part in physical activity, so they tend to avoid it," she said.
The participants were asked how often they experienced five different discriminatory situations that included being treated with less respect or courtesy; receiving poorer service at restaurants or stores; being treated as if they are not clever; being threatened or harassed; and receiving poorer treatment from doctors or at hospitals. The researchers considered patients who attributed these experiences of discrimination to their weight as being cases of perceived weight discrimination.
"Our study clearly shows that weight discrimination is part of the obesity problem and not the solution. Weight bias has been documented not only among the general public but also among health professionals; and many obese patients report being treated disrespectfully by doctors because of their weight. Everyone, including doctors, should stop blaming and shaming people for their weight and offer support, and where appropriate, treatment," said senior author Professor Jane Wardle, director of the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Centre at UCL
