Obese Feel Social Discrimination
Reported June 24, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) When obese people hear they need to exercise and eat a healthier diet, it may be doing more harm than good.
Researchers from Australia say obese people feel a culture of blame against them, which they say has grown worse with media reports about the health risks of obesity. The results are based on one-hour personal interviews with 76 obese people 62 females, 14 males ages 16 to 72.
Obese people frequently feel overwhelmed and disheartened by the publicity about their condition, lead author, Paul Komesaroff, M.D., Ph.D., Monash University in Melbourne, was quoted as saying. They often feel disrespected and not understood by medical practitioners. Our participants express the view very forcefully that they feel victimized by current social attitudes about obesity. To be told that, in addition to the problems that they recognize only too well, they are now regarded as sick is unlikely to assist them to find a solution.
The report finds participants have a hard time acting on the advice about loosing weight. Most of them said they tried weight loss remedies their physicians recommended and were generally dissatisfied with the help from doctors.
Komesaroff believes the reason health care providers efforts dont work is because they dont understand the key social and psychological issues obese people face.
Results show nearly half of the participants said they had poor mental and emotional health including depression related to their weight. Almost all of them said they had been humiliated and discriminated against either in childhood or as adults. More than 25 percent said they regularly tried to lose weight quickly by not eating for periods, essentially starving themselves.
Researchers say health care providers should do a more thorough assessment of the individual needs of obese patients and pay closer attention to their social and psychological issues.
SOURCE: The Endocrine Societys 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, June 2-15, 2008