Study: Weight discrimination increases risk of death

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- In addition to increased health risks because of obesity itself, obese people who are subjected to discrimination based on their weight have an increased risk of mortality, according to new research conducted at Florida State University.

The psychological effects of weightism, whether it be playful teasing or negative-sounding "motivation" to lose weight, increases the chances obese people will engage in activities that contribute to the condition, such as unhealthy eating and no physical activity.

"Some people think, 'Oh, well, you're just hurting somebody's feelings when you say something bad about their weight, but it will motivate them to lose weight, which will save their life,'" said Angelina Sutin, a researcher at the FSU College of Medicine, in a press release. "Our research has shown that very clearly this type of approach does not work and there are really serious consequences to it."

Sutin and the researchers considered survey and health data on 13,962 participants in the Health and Retirement Study and 5,079 people in the Midlife in the United States Study.

After accounting for BMI, subjective health, disease burden, depressive symptoms, smoking history, and physical activity, the researchers found discrimination based on weight was associated with a 60 percent increase in the risk of death.

"What we found is that this isn't a case of people with a higher body mass index being at an increased risk of mortality -- and they happen to also report being subjected to weight discrimination," Sutin said. "Independent of what their BMI actually is, weight discrimination is associated with increased risk of mortality."

The study is published in Psychological Science.