Psychological Consequences Of Calling Obesity A Disease

NPR:

I’m Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I’d like to thank Celeste Headlee for sitting in for me while I was away. On the program today, we are focusing on some interesting health issues that might be on your mind after a week of holiday meals and family gatherings.

Later, we will tell you about some interesting new findings about depression in new mothers who are living in multigenerational households. But we’re going to start by talking about obesity, which affects 1 in 3 Americans. Last year, you might remember, the American Medical Association, the nation’s largest physicians group, classified obesity as a disease. AMA officials hoped the change would steer more medical attention to obesity.

But now a new study says people actually make poorer diet choices when they think of obesity as a disease. The study is from the Journal of Psychological Science. Crystal Hoyt is the lead author, and she’s with us now from member station WCVE in Richmond, Virginia. Crystal Hoyt, welcome. Thanks for joining us.

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