Abstract
Obesity stigma largely remains a socially acceptable bias with harmful outcomes for its victims. While many accounts have been put forward to explain the bias, the role of obesity etiology beliefs has received little scrutiny. The research examined the effect that beliefs about the psychological etiology of obesity have on the expression of obesity stigma and the mechanisms underpinning this effect. Participants (N = 463) were asked to evaluate a target person with obesity after reading one of three possible etiologies: psychological, genetic, or behavioral. The presentation of a psychological etiology of obesity elicited less prejudice compared to behavioral causes but greater prejudice compared to genetic causes; observed differences were found to be a function of the agency ascribed to the target’s obesity and empathy expressed for the target. The findings highlight the impact that communicating obesity in terms of psychological causes can have for the expression of obesity stigma.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 585-592 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Health Communication |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 4 May 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-368) and also by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care of the South West Peninsula (PenCLAHRC). Dale Weston?s time on this project was part funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Modelling Methodologies at Imperial College London in partnership with Public Health England (PHE). The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Leverhulme Trust, NIHR, PenCLAHRC, NIHR HPRU, or the PHE. This research was supported by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-368) and also by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care of the South West Peninsula (PenCLAHRC). Dale Weston?s time on this project was part funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Modelling Methodologies at Imperial College London in partnership with Public Health England (PHE). The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Leverhulme Trust, NIHR, PenCLAHRC, NIHR HPRU, or the PHE.
Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-368) and also by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care of the South West Peninsula (PenCLAHRC). Dale Weston’s time on this project was part funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Modelling Methodologies at Imperial College London in partnership with Public Health England (PHE). The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Leverhulme Trust, NIHR, PenCLAHRC, NIHR HPRU, or the PHE.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
