Girls Labelled 'Fat' at 10… likely to be obese at 19, study reveals
Thursday, April 25, 2024.
A recent study conducted in Northern California examined 1,166 girls and revealed a concerning trend: girls who were told they were "fat" at the age of 10 were more likely to be obese at 19.
This message and label could have come from various sources… such as teachers, parents, siblings, classmates, or friends.
Contrary to assumptions, the increased weight wasn't solely due to girls who were already heavier receiving this label. The study's findings remained significant even after considering the girls' weight at 10, as well as factors like education, race, and household income.
Professor A. Janet Tomiyama, the senior author of the study, expressed astonishment at the results, stating, "Simply being labelled as too fat has a measurable effect almost a decade later. We nearly fell off our chairs when we discovered this." Dr. Jeffrey Hunger, another author, explained that such labeling may lead to increased stress and overeating, as individuals worry about the stigma associated with being overweight.
Moreover, the study highlighted a troubling trend: the more people who told a girl she was fat, the more likely she was to be obese at 19. This underscores the harmful impact of 'weight stigma' on physical health and well-being, with weight-based discrimination associated with weight gain in older individuals.
"These results are a damning demonstration of the effects of 'weight stigma'," the study's authors write. "Considerable research underscores the detrimental effects of weight stigma on the physical health and well-being of children and adolescents, and nationally representative, longitudinal data show weight-based discrimination is associated with weight gain among older individuals."
These findings profoundly challenge the effectiveness of 'fat-shaming' as a method for promoting long-term weight loss…
"Anti-obesity efforts that rely on stigmatizing weight (eg, using harsh language or stereotypical portrayals of overweight individuals) may impede health promotion efforts, as weight stigma is often negatively related to behavior change and thus seems unlikely to result in weight loss," the authors explain.
Seems pretty unequivocal to me. Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
RESEARCH:
The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics (Hunger & Tomiyama, 2014), sheds light on the importance of addressing weight stigma and promoting healthy behaviors without resorting to harmful labeling and discrimination.
