Calling obesity a disease increases weight gain in overweight people

A new study has warned that terming obesity as an illness or a disease makes overweight people less alarmed about their health because they think that they have no control over their weight.

For the study, University of Minnesota researchers asked over 700 people to read one of three articles, News.com.au reported.

While one article was from the New York Times regarding the move to categorize obesity as a disease, the second article focused on tips for managing weight and the third one urged that obesity is not a disease.

Participants were also given a sandwich menu and asked which of the snacks they would like to order.

The findings showed that obese people who choose the first article saw dieting as less important than those who read other articles and they chose sandwiches containing more calories.

The researchers concluded that messages about the nature of obesity have self-regulatory consequences.

The study is published in the journal Psychological Science.