Demonization tactics have opposite effect for obesity

[DrMA]

Perhaps in similar fashion to ANTZ tactics vis-a-vis smokers, «Making people feel ashamed about obesity could lead them to gain weight, not lose it, suggests University College London.»

«The researchers say this suggests that blaming and shaming people for being overweight is counterproductive.
Instead they say it is better to be supportive and encouraging.»

«weight discrimination was part of the obesity problem - not the solution.»


BBC News - Discriminating against obese 'doesn't help weight loss'

Where was this kind of research when ANTZ were pointing at smokers and screaming "murder". Oh wait, they're still doing it. How would this headline look: «demonizing smokers is part of the problem, not the solution»? or «ad hominem anti-smoking campaigning causes increased, not decreased smoking»?

 

[JimmyDB]

«demonizing smokers is part of the problem, not the solution»? or «ad hominem anti-smoking campaigning causes increased, not
decreased smoking»?

I likes it...

 

[Anjaffm]

good find!

"Stress responses to discrimination can increase appetite, particularly for unhealthy, energy-dense food.

"Weight discrimination has also been shown to make people feel less confident about taking part in physical activity, so they tend to avoid it."

Well, yes.
That goes without saying. Hm... as does the simple fact that stress responses also lead to increased smoking. Nice vicious circle, eh?
Somehow, the expression "downtrodden masses" comes to mind...

 

[JimmyDB]

good find!



Well, yes.
That goes without saying. Hm... as does the simple fact that stress responses also lead to increased smoking. Nice vicious circle, eh?
Somehow, the expression "downtrodden masses" comes to mind...

Discrimination (and the poor treatment of others simply because they enjoy different things)... THAT is the 'gateway drug'! Ok, maybe we need to pull a trick from the FDA and either ignore a definition or rewrite the defs for a few words for me to be able to say 'drug'... but that's ok, they are willing to consider non-tobacco items 'tobacco products' etc. and no one follows the definitions for SCHEDULE types.

Anyway, it's OK to say someone doesn't look good or whatever just because we believe (were told?) that it isn't the healthiest way... and since treating people like that is IN ITSELF a large cause for their actions, then treating people that way must be a leading contributing factor that directly causes the poor health which means it MUST BE BETTER REGULATED! Ah HAH!

So, which agency is it that can police this and force the FDA to stop their terrible discrimination?

 

[Nate760]

I don't think the ANTZ are motivated, to any meaningful degree, by a desire to reduce the number of smokers. I suspect they rather like the number being where it currently is, at a little under 20%, because that gives them plenty of people on whom to project their hatreds and prejudices, but it's a small enough group that it can be socially, politically, and economically marginalized, and attacked with relative impunity.

 

[csardaz]

Theres a simple harm-reduction illustration. If smokeless nicotine is 98% less harmful than smoking then 50 months of using the less harmful alternative does similar harm to 1 month of smoking.

On the other hand, quitting smoking and nicotine would reduce the risk to zero.

But quitting usually requires several tries, and relapses, more smokes, a whole lot of additional stress and - usually - weight gain, often a bit more gained for each quit attempt. This has got to increase health risks above zero, the extra smokes in relapses, the stresses, the mental damage of repeated failures and the weight gains.

On the other hand you can get down to 2% risk real quick with vaping, less relapsing, less stress, no weight gain. Then ongoing - some risk from ongoing nicotine stimulant use - but to some degree offset by its effect on lowering weight.

Oh, got off topic - somewhere in there are added risks from
getting demonized.

 

[Tache]

I will state here that I am proof. When my town brought in the smoking bans, my very steady .75 to 1 PAD habit went almost immediately to a 1.5 PAD habit. and over the ensuing 10+ years increased to a 2 PAD habit. I am thankful every day for the innovations that brought about APV's and have now been smoke free for over 14 months.