New York City (NYC) students, who were sent home with fat-shaming report cards stating they are "overweight" or "obese," were not encouraged to lose weight. This is according to an extensive new study that found NYC Fitnessgram reports were never helpful in motivating children to shed extra pounds.
NYC Fitnessgram is an annual assessment for students in grade K-12. Under this program, more than 870,000 students yearly take home a report card to share with family and health care providers. These reports are shared with students and their families to encourage healthy eating habits and active lifestyle.
But a new study, published on Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, discovered that Fitnessgram reports were not making any positive impact. The New York Post reported that the researchers examined the measurements for all city public school students from 2007 to 2012, and made a comparison of the female and male students who placed just over and under the "overweight" or "obese" thresholds for their age.
The researchers discovered that there is no indication that those over the lines were ever able to lose weight. They also found that the average overweight girl actually increased a little more than students just below the line.
"It's not enough just to get the information out there. You have to get it to people in a way that's actionable," Syracuse Professor Amy Ellen Schwartz commented on the recent findings.
Previous Fitnessgram reports include designations like "underweight" or "obese." However, those were changed to "healthy fitness zone" and "needs improvement" last year, following complaints that those words were fat-shaming kids.
Several studies in the past have found that fat-shaming is never helpful in encouraging a person to lose weight. According to The Washington Post, a study from University College London in 2014 discovered that it actually triggers individuals to gain weight.
"Our results show that weight discrimination does not encourage weight loss, and suggest that it may even exacerbate weight gain," Sarah Jackson, lead author of the study, said in a statement. "Stress responses to discrimination can increase appetite, particularly for unhealthy, energy-dense food."
