"Obesity is a disease": examining the self-regulatory impact of this public-health message.
Psychol Sci
; 25(4): 997-1002, 2014 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-24463553
ABSTRACT
In the current work, we examined the impact of the American Medical Association's recent classification of obesity as a disease on weight-management processes. Across three experimental studies, we highlighted the potential hidden costs associated with labeling obesity as a disease, showing that this message, presented in an actual New York Times article, undermined beneficial weight-loss self-regulatory processes. A disease-based, relative to an information-based, weight-management message weakened the importance placed on health-focused dieting and reduced concerns about weight among obese individuals--the very people whom such public-health messages are targeting. Further, the decreased concern about weight predicted higher-calorie food choices. In addition, the disease message, relative to a message that obesity is not a disease, lowered body-image dissatisfaction, but this too predicted higher-calorie food choices. Thus, although defining obesity as a disease may be beneficial for body image, results from the current work emphasize the negative implications of this message for self-regulation.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Controles Informais da Sociedade
/
Redução de Peso
/
Atitude Frente a Saúde
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Saúde Pública
/
Obesidade
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
/
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Região como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Psychol Sci
Assunto da revista:
PSICOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2014
Tipo de documento:
Article