If obesity is a disease, is labeling it that way the cure?
My final guest post at the BPS Research Digest went up on Friday, covering recent work by psychologists Crystal Hoyt, Jeni Burnette, and Lisa Auster-Gussman on the motivational implications of formally classifying obesity as a “disease,” as the American Medical Association did in July 2013.
By Melanie Tannenbaum
This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
My final guest post at the BPS Research Digest went up on Friday, covering recent work by psychologists Crystal Hoyt, Jeni Burnette, and Lisa Auster-Gussman on the motivational implications of formally classifying obesity as a "disease," as the American Medical Association did in July 2013.
The good news is that the AMA is right to celebrate the benefits that it has already touted; labeling obesity as a disease, in the experimental group, did lead obese participants to report higher levels of self-esteem and body satisfaction. The bad news, however, is that this decision might have serious consequences for the public health goal of actually reducing the obesity rate. In both studies, obese participants opted for sandwiches with significantly more calories when they received the “obesity-is-a-disease” message than when they received either the standard information-based message or the “obesity-isn’t-a-disease” message.
For the rest of this post, head over to the BPS Research Digest!
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