FSU researchers find weight discrimination is linked to increased risk of mortality

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/fsu-frf101515.php

Public Release: 15-Oct-2015
FSU researchers find weight discrimination is linked to increased risk of mortality
Florida State University

In recent years, Florida State University College of Medicine researchers Angelina R. Sutin and Antonio Terracciano have found that people who experience weight discrimination are more likely to become or remain obese, to develop chronic health problems and to have a lower satisfaction with life.

Now they've found that people who report being subjected to weight discrimination also have a greater risk of dying. Not because they may be overweight, but because of the apparent effects of the discrimination. Their findings have been published in Psychological Science.

•••••

"Independent of what their BMI actually is, weight discrimination is associated with increased risk of mortality."

•••••

Weight discrimination is not always meant to be mean-spirited, but a body of evidence demonstrates that it has harmful effects nonetheless. Previous studies indicate that teasing a person to lose weight has the opposite effect over the long-term, including a study by Sutin and Terracciano that was published in PLOS ONE in 2013. Indeed, people who are stigmatized because of their weight are more likely to engage in the kind of behavior that contributes to obesity, including unhealthy eating and avoiding physical activity.

•••••