"Obesity is a disease": : examining the self-regulatory impact of this public-health message

• Autores: Crystal L. Hoyt, Jeni L. Burnette, Lisa Auster-Gussman
• Localización: Psychological Science, ISSN-e 1467-9280, Vol. 25, Nº. 4, 2014, págs. 997-1002
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • 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.