Report States 'Fat Shaming' May Lead To Greater Risks Than Obesity
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Millions of Americans struggle with their weight. It's known to increase the risk of things like diabetes and heart disease. New research says that fat shaming can also increase those same risks.
Researchers from Penn Medicine say obese people are often stereotyped as being lazy, unattractive and to blame for their excess weight. The shame they then feel can increase the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease.
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"When people are exposed to messages of blame or shame because of their weight and then they internalize them, that may create risks for poor mental and physical health," explained Dr. Rebecca Pearl, an assistant professor of psychology.
She did research at Penn's Center for Weight and Eating Disorders with 159 obese people. They worked with a weight bias internalization scale which is when people believe negative stereotypes. "We found people who had highest weight basis internalization score had three times greater odds of having metabolic syndrome and six times greater odds of high triglycerides," Dr. Pearl said.
Researchers say those health risks were above and beyond those usually associated with obesity and that when people feel shamed because of their weight, they are more likely to avoid exercise and consume more calories to cope with the stress.
The Penn researchers say body shaming is a wide spread problem often seen in cyber-bullying and comments made about celebrities. The research was published in the Journal of the Obesity Society.
