A billboard advertisement for a community fitness center. Although the majority of people might find this unique advertisement comical, individuals that are obese might become discouraged at the fact that their weight is being drawn attention to.
Source: Swipefile.com The Obesity Action Coalition is an organization determined to eliminate weight bias and discrimination by giving a voice to those who are affected by obesity (OAC).
Image Source: HealthyWomen Obesity can often mask other health disorders, as professionals such as doctors erroneously use a person's weight to rationalize why they aren't in good health. Such stereotyping can lead to incorrect diagnoses, untreated eating disorders, and feelings of shame (HealthLine).
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Workplace Health Promotion programs can cause more harm than good, damaging the psychological health of overweight employees.
WHP programs have detrimental effects on weight-loss motivation, as well as the psychological well being of employees who are overweight (Kolata). It has been shown that publicly condemning lack of physical activity and poor eating habits discourages individuals who are overweight. Sharon Begley suggests that in many cases drawing attention to poor health can cause an overweight individual to become discouraged and gain even more weight (Begley). This relationship can be well explained by the psychological effect known as the avoidance theory. In their study, researchers Lenny R. Vartanian and Jacqueline G. Shaprow demonstrate how this theory can affect one's ability to lose weight. Through qualitative studies involving a number of college-aged females, they found that individuals who experienced weight stigmatization had a decreased motivation to exercise. Furthermore, some of these individuals actually became motivated to actually avoid exercising (Vartanian and Shaprow). Studies like these suggest that most people may go out of their way to avoid thinking about their seemingly disgraceful characteristics. In this case, individuals who are convinced their weight is a poor attribute to have are more likely to try to avoid thinking about their weight at all (Vartanian and Shaprow). Exacerbating one's excess weight only increases the implications from their condition. Therefore motivating individuals to avoid exercise in turn will lead to increased risk of a plethora of medical conditions, including depression, anxiety, and many other harmful psychological health conditions (Powroznik). Believe it or not, addressing personal health in the workplace actually has significant potential for further damaging the physical health of certain employees, as well as their relationships with co-workers. Programs push obese workers to avoid thinking about their weight by attaching a negative connotation to being anything but in shape. Wellness programs may be a feasible solution to the obesity epidemic, but only if they challenged the old ideologies of weight loss: that health is directly correlated with weight, and that being overweight is a negative and looked-down-upon attribute. If programs worked more to dispel the negative stereotypes of being overweight, opposed to promoting them, their efforts might be met with greater results. Yet, unfortunately this is not what most WHP programs stand for (Powroznik). Given the amount of time the average adult spends at work, corporations have an large influence on the average American adult. Business executives and HR representatives are in absolutely no way, shape or form psychology, sociology, or public health experts; as such, they should not be allowed to make such an impacting decision regarding one of the largest public health crises in U.S. history. |
Go to the next page to learn about the negative sociological consequences that comes with fostering a culture of WHP programs
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Greenleaf, C., & Weiller, K. (2005). Perceptions of youth obesity among physical educators. Social Psychology of Education, vol. 8, pp. 407–423. Web. Accessed 16, May 2019.
Davison, Kristl H. and Bing, Mark N. "Obesity: Disability or Public Health Crisis?." Industrial & Organizational Psychology, vol. 6, no. 1, Mar. 2013, pp. 96-99. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/iops.12016. Accessed 16, May 2019.
Powroznik, Karen M. "Healthism and Weight-Based Discrimination." Work & Occupations, vol. 44, no. 2, May 2017, pp. 139-170. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/0730888416682576. Accessed 16, May 2019.
Larose, Jessica Gokee, et al. “Differences in Motivations and Weight Loss Behaviors in Young Adults and Older Adults in the National Weight Control Registry.” Obesity, vol. 21, no. 3, Mar. 2013, pp. 449–453. Wiley, doi:10.1002/oby.20053. Accessed 16, May 2019.
Davison, Kristl H. and Bing, Mark N. "Obesity: Disability or Public Health Crisis?." Industrial & Organizational Psychology, vol. 6, no. 1, Mar. 2013, pp. 96-99. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/iops.12016. Accessed 16, May 2019.
Powroznik, Karen M. "Healthism and Weight-Based Discrimination." Work & Occupations, vol. 44, no. 2, May 2017, pp. 139-170. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/0730888416682576. Accessed 16, May 2019.
Larose, Jessica Gokee, et al. “Differences in Motivations and Weight Loss Behaviors in Young Adults and Older Adults in the National Weight Control Registry.” Obesity, vol. 21, no. 3, Mar. 2013, pp. 449–453. Wiley, doi:10.1002/oby.20053. Accessed 16, May 2019.