Tag: internalizing disorders

Obese people who feel stigmatized about their size are not only more likely to struggle with weight loss, they're also more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders, a new study suggests.

In many cultures, people who are obese are viewed as stereotypically lazy, lacking in willpower, incompetent, unattractive and personally responsible for their excess weight, researchers note in the journal Obesity. These negative beliefs, known as weight bias, can cause obese people to experience discrimination, which is in turn associated with an increased risk of "internalizing disorders" like depression, anxiety and low self-esteem, previous research has found.