A qualitative study of overweight and obese Australians' views of food addiction.

The concept of food addiction is increasingly used in the academic literature and popular media to explain some forms of overweight and obesity. However, there is limited evidence on how this term is understood by and impacts overweight and obese individuals. This qualitative study investigated the views of overweight and obese individuals on food addiction, and its likely impact upon stigma, treatment-seeking, and support for public policies to reduce overeating. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 overweight and obese individuals (Mage = 38, MBMI = 33, 74% female) and analysed thematically. The concept of food addiction was consistent with many participants' personal experiences, and was accompanied by high perceptions of control and personal responsibility. Some participants believed "sugar" or "fat" addiction to be more accurate. Others were reluctant to be described as an "addict" owing to perceived negative connotations and the belief that it would increase self-stigma. Food addiction was seen as a motivator for seeking psychological services, but not pharmaceutical or surgical treatments. In light of food addiction being perceived as plausible and relevant, participants supported targeted public health policies (e.g., taxes, regulations for junk food container sizes) but did not believe these would affect their own purchasing or consumption behaviours. Education for interpreting food labels and reducing the costs of healthy foods were endorsed, leading to positive changes in food-related behaviours. This research suggests discretionary use of the food addiction label in a supportive and educational manner to minimise stigma while encouraging treatment-seeking.

Obesity discrimination: the role of physical appearance, personal ideology, and anti-fat prejudice.

OBJECTIVE: Self-report measures of anti-fat prejudice are regularly used by the field, however, there is no research showing a relationship between explicit measures of anti-fat prejudice and the behavioral manifestation of them; obesity discrimination. The present study examined whether a recently developed measure of anti-fat prejudice, the universal measure of bias (UMB), along with other correlates of prejudicial attitudes and beliefs (that is, authoritarianism, social dominance orientation; SDO, physical appearance investment) predict obesity discrimination. METHOD: Under the guise of a personnel selection task, participants (n=102) gave assessments of obese and non-obese females applying for a managerial position across a number of selection criteria (for example, starting salary, likelihood of selecting). Participants viewed resumes that had attached either a photo of a pre-bariatric surgery obese female (body mass index (BMI)=38-41) or a photo of the same female post-bariatric surgery (BMI=22-24). Participants also completed measures of anti-fat prejudice (UMB) authoritarianism, SDO, physical appearance evaluation and orientation. RESULTS: Obesity discrimination was displayed across all selection criteria. Higher UMB subscale scores (distance and negative judgement), authoritarianism, physical appearance evaluation and orientation were associated with greater obesity discrimination. In regression models, UMB 'distance' was a predictor of obesity discrimination for perceived leadership potential, starting salary, and overall employability. UMB 'negative judgement' predicted discrimination for starting salary; and authoritarianism predicted likelihood of selecting an obese applicant and candidate ranking. Finally, physical appearance evaluation and appearance orientation predicted obesity discrimination for predicted career success and leadership potential, respectively. CONCLUSION: Self-report measures of prejudice act as surrogates for discrimination, but there has been no empirical support for the validity of explicit measures of anti-fat prejudice. Here, the UMB, authoritarianism, and physical appearance investment predicted obesity discrimination. The present results provide support for the use of these measures by researchers seeking to assess, understand, and reduce anti-fat prejudice and discrimination.

Unprompted generation of obesity stereotypes.

Prejudice towards obese people is widespread and has negative consequences for individuals with obesity. The present study covertly examined whether participants spontaneously generate different written transcript content (i.e., more negative stereotypes) when presented with a picture of an obese person or a normal-weight person. Two pictures of young women were computer generated to appear identical in all features except for body shape, which was either obese or normal-weight. Forty-nine women blind to the nature of the study were randomized to receive either the obese or normal-weight picture and asked to write a free-response description of a typical "day in the life" of the woman depicted. Independent coding of the transcripts revealed more frequent negative stereotypes and more negative valence generated by participants asked to describe a typical day of the obese target. These differences are consistent with the prevalent negative stereotypes of obese individuals.

Weighing obesity stigma: the relative strength of different forms of bias.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the strength of weight bias to other common biases, and to develop a psychometrically sound measure to assess and compare bias against different targets. SUBJECTS: A total of 368 university students (75.4% women, 47.6% white, mean age: 21.53 years, mean body mass index (BMI): 23.01 kg/m(2)). MEASUREMENTS: A measure was developed to assess bias against different targets. Three versions of the universal measure of bias (UMB) were developed and validated, each focusing on either 'fat,' 'gay' or 'Muslim' individuals. These were administered to participants, along with two established scales of bias against each target and a measure of socially desirable response style. RESULTS: The UMB demonstrated good internal consistency, appropriate item-total and inter-item correlations, and a clear factor structure suggesting components of Negative Judgment, Distance, Attraction and Equal Rights. Construct validity was indicated by strong correlations between established measures of bias and each corresponding version of the new scale. In contrast to previously established measures of weight bias, the new measure was independent of socially desirable response style. Although homosexual orientation was associated with lower gay bias (P<0.05), greater BMI was not associated with any decrease in weight bias. When comparing the relative strength of bias against different targets, weight bias was significantly greater than bias against both gays and Muslims (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Weight bias is significantly stronger than other major targets of bias. This is the first study to develop a universal measure to assess bias against different targets. The excellent psychometric properties of this measure will permit further investigation into the relative severity of different types of prejudice over time and across samples. The present findings suggest that the pervasive discrimination against obese individuals may be more socially acceptable than discrimination against other groups.

Situational awareness ability and cognitive skills training in a complex real-world task.

Successful performance in complex dynamic environments depends on domain-dependent factors, such as situational awareness (SA). Underlying SA in a domain are domain-independent cognitive abilities in perception, memory, attention and executive control. Individuals with lower underlying ability perform relatively poorly in complex dynamic real-world tasks. The first experiment examined whether cognitive skills training could overcome limitations in underlying SA ability that impact on complex dynamic task performance. Participants were taught a mix of cognitive management strategies (e.g. divided and focused attention and visual search) in a simulated air traffic control task. A second experiment investigated the link between underlying SA ability, TRACON and SAGAT, a widely used measure of domain-specific SA. In a third experiment, the focus was on encouraging participants to plan ahead and consider the interrelations of elements (aircraft) in the environment. Whilst both training methods ameliorated the negative impact that lower SA ability had on complex dynamic task performance, the results of the third study indicated that this may have been achieved through improved planning behaviour. Finally, participants with higher underlying SA ability performed well irrespective of training condition.

Implicit anti-fat bias in physical educators: physical attributes, ideology and socialization.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the implicit and explicit prejudice of physical education (PE) students before, and following extensive professional training, and to examine the relationship of anti-fat prejudice to relevant psychosocial predictors. DESIGN: Implicit and explicit anti-fat prejudice of year one and three PE students (cross-sectional sample) were assessed and compared to a similarly matched (age, body mass index (BMI), education) sample of psychology students. SUBJECTS: Three hundred and forty-four university students, 180 PE students, 164 psychology students (67% female, mean age 20 years, BMI: mean 23.18 kg/m(2)). MEASUREMENTS: Measures of implicit and explicit anti-fat prejudice were administered to PE and psychology students in either their second week, or near completion of their third year, of university study. Physical identity, body esteem and social dominance orientation (SDO) were assessed in order to establish their relationship with anti-fat bias. RESULTS: PE students displayed higher levels of implicit anti-fat bias than psychology students, and other health professionals. Additionally, year three PE students displayed higher levels of implicit anti-fat attitudes than year one PE students. The higher implicit anti-fat biases exhibited by year three PE students were associated with SDO, and lower body esteem. CONCLUSION: Physical educators, and particularly those more socialized in the PE environment, display strong negative prejudice toward obese individuals that is greater than that displayed by other groups. These prejudices appear to be supported by an over-investment in physical attributes, and ideological beliefs.

Body esteem and eating behaviours in female physical education students.

Certain university majors appear to be at greater risk of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. The present study sought to examine self esteem, body satisfaction, and disordered eating in a sample of year one and year three female physical education students, and to compare them to a matched sample of non-physical education females. Year three, but not year one physical education females, reported greater rates of disorder eating, but lower global self esteem, than non-physical education females. Dissatisfaction with sexual attractiveness, physical condition, and weight, were significantly related to disordered eating behaviours. Further research needs to be conducted with university majors that place a high premium on physical form and ability.