Some anti-obesity campaigns may backfire, researchers say
Obese people are not likely to heed public service announcements that make them feel shame, a survey finds.
"Even among physicians, obese patients elicit feelings of prejudice and blame. A 2003 survey, published in the journal Obesity Research, found that half considered their obese patients awkward, ugly, unattractive and unlikely to follow their advice. In addition, one-third of doctors viewed obese patients as weak-willed, sloppy and lazy.
Against this backdrop, it's little wonder that some public health campaigns would employ guilt and shame to motivate people to lose weight, said Rebecca Puhl, the Rudd Center's research director and leader of the new study.
"There tends to be a sense that maybe a little bit of stigma isn't such a bad thing, that maybe it'll giveoverweight or obese viewers a little motivation," she said.
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But such views do not account for shame's boomerang effect."
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