Labeling Obesity as a Disease May Undermine Healthy Intentions of Obese Individuals

Calling obesity a disease may undermine healthy behaviors and beliefs among obese people, according to new research.

Writing in the journal Psychological Science, researchers from the University of Richmond and the University of Minnesota report that obese individuals exposed to messages about their obesity being a disease were more likely to place less importance on weight loss and healthy eating, and thus make unhealthy food choices more often.

The American Medical Association (AMA) declared obesity a disease in June of 2013.

"Considering that obesity is a crucial public-health issue, a more nuanced understanding of the impact of an 'obesity is a disease' message has significant implications for patient-level and policy-level outcomes," said study author Crystal Hoyt, a psychological scientist at the University of Richmond. "Experts have been debating the merits of, and problems with, the AMA policy - we wanted to contribute to the conversation by bringing data rather than speculation and by focusing on the psychological repercussions."

By labeling obesity as a disease, obese individuals may come to think that their condition is unchangeable, the researchers suggest.

For their research, Hoyt and her colleagues recruited 700 people to take an online survey. Participants were asked to read an article related to health and weight and answer various questions about what they read.

The study was hinged around particular language in the articles. Some participants read an article that described obesity as a disease, some read a standard public health message about weight and some read an article stating specifically that obesity was not a disease.

The readers were also asked to provide their height and weight in the online survey, which the researchers used to calculate body mass index. Based on BMI, the researchers classified participants as average weight or obese in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines.

The results showed that the message obese participants read had a clear impact on their attitudes toward heath, diet and weight. Specifically, the participants who read the "obesity is a disease" articles were found to place less importance on healthy eating and weight loss and expressed less concern over weight when compared to obese people who read the other two articles.

"Together, these findings suggest that the messages individuals hear about the nature of obesity have self-regulatory consequences," Hoyt said, adding, "In our ongoing work, we hope to gain a greater understanding of how the 'obesity is a disease' message influences beliefs about the controllability of weight. In addition, we are also interested in investigating the role of this message in reducing stigma against the obese."