According to researchers weight discrimination, also known as "weightism," can aggravate obesity problems, leading to a person gaining weight faster and remaining obese for a longer period of time.
Obesity is one of the fastest growing global problems, especially in the United States, reported the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Recently, the American Medical Association declared obesity, a disease.
In a new study, researchers from Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee found that weight discrimination, which they refer to as "weightism," can aggravate obesity problems, leading to a person gaining weight faster and remaining obese for a longer period of time.
For the study, researchers analyzed 6,000 participants and recorded their weight from 2006 to 2010. They were also asked to report whether they had been subjected to any form of weight discrimination during this period, like being taunted about their weight.
Researchers observed that participants who had experienced "weightism" were 2.5 times more likely to become obese by 2010. They also found that participants who were obese in 2006 and reported discrimination were more than three times more likely to remain obese for a longer period of time when compared to participants who were not victims of 'weightism'.
Though this may sound cruel, weightism is a common problem faced by many. In fact, a recent study conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers in April revealed that doctors were less likely to bond with their over-weight or "fat" patients, which, in turn, made such patients less likely to adhere to treatment recommendations.
"I have worked for many years to help my clinical colleagues provide constructive and compassionate weight-management counseling," Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, told HealthDay. "Obesity bias, or weightism, by medical professionals or our society at large is the literal addition of insult to injury."
The findings are published in the journal PLOS ONE.
