Nearly half of the people responding to an online survey about obesity said they would give up a year of their life rather than be fat, according to a study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale.
The 4,000 respondents in varying numbers between 15% and 30% also said they would rather walk away from their marriage, give up the possibility of having children, be depressed, or become alcoholic rather than be obese. Five percent and 4%, respectively, said they would rather lose a limb or be blind than be overweight.
"We were surprised by the sheer number of people who reported they would be willing to make major sacrifices to avoid being obese. It drives home the message that weight bias is powerful and pervasive," says Marlene Schwartz, associate director of the Rudd Center and lead author of the study in Obesity, which was issued this month.
In addition to these comments, the study assessed implicit and explicit, or unconscious and conscious, negative attitudes about obesity. The data was collected from a website developed for the purpose of the study. People found out about the website by attending a conference, reading articles in which one of the authors was interviewed, or by visiting the Rudd Center website. Of those who responded, 3% were underweight, 41% were normal weight, 21% were overweight, 21% were obese and 14% were extremely obese.
Implicit attitudes were measured with a timed word categorization task that measured how quickly the respondents associated words like "bad" and "lazy" with "fat people" compared with "thin people." Explicit weight bias was assessed by asking people to rate their preferences for thin and fat people, and the degree to which they believe that fat people are lazier than thin people.
The researchers found that people of all weight categories exhibited a significant implicit anti-fat bias. Thinner people held stronger implicit and explicit negative attitudes than heavier people. Obese and very obese people exhibited only an implicit anti-fat bias, not an explicit one.
"The fact that even obese individuals exhibited a significant implicit anti-fat bias is important because it suggests that they have internalized negative stereotypes, such as believing they are lazy," says Schwartz. "Based on research about the importance of believing in your ability to succeed at a difficult task, we predict that internalizing weight bias contributes to feelings of desperation, shame and withdrawal, rather than motivates healthy behavior changes."
Co-authors include Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center and chair of the Department of Psychology, and Lenny Vartanian and Brian Nosek. The research was funded by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.
-- By Jacqueline Weaver
T H I S
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
PBS news anchor elected as trustee
Ceremony formally marks Rose Center opening
New Peabody hall offering high-tech lessons about Earth and space
Scientists believe that green tea may be key to 'Asian paradox'
COMMENCEMENT 2006
University celebrates its 305th graduation
Baccalaureate Address
Honorary Degrees
Other student awards
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS
James Gustave Speth named Sara Shallenberger Brown Professor
James Baron comes to SOM as the William S. Beinecke Professor
New exhibit asks: What did Shakespeare really look like?
Samples from ocean floor at the North Pole yield clues . . .
MEDICAL SCHOOL NEWS
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Animals may provide warning of bioterrorist attack, say researchers
Researchers uncovering clues to drug resistance in ovarian cancer
Scientists find way to use intestinal cells to stop . . .
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Arts & Ideas festival adds a dash of New Orleans spice
Art & Architecture Library taking up temporary residence on Crown Street
Forum explores governmental budgetary processes in China
Library events celebrate aviator and author Anne Morrow Lindberg
Making the Grade
Uncovering Ingrained Attitudes About Obesity
Nursing School research shows ideas about ideal weight . . .
Rudd Center survey reveals that many people would give up . . .
Artist's exhibit at Slifka Center will examine complexity of faith
Jaroslav Pelikan, renowned scholar of church history
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Gigantic balloon creatures to invade Hall of Dinosaurs
Celebrated performer to teach summer flute institute
Drama production will highlight work by New Haven students
Reading aloud
Campus Notes
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