BMI of Interviewer Effects

Abstract

This article considers the effect of the interviewer's relative body weight, as measured by the body mass index (BMI), on interviewees’ responses to questions on restrictive eating behaviors, such as skipping meals and fasting. Survey methodologists have devoted much effort to determine the extent to which interviewee responses are affected by personal characteristics of the interviewer. Various studies have found that readily visible interviewer traits such as race (Hill, 2002) and gender (Flores-Macias & Lawson, 2008) may influence survey responses. The effects are particularly operant when respondents are queried about racial attitudes (Anderson, Silver, & Abramson, 1988), gender roles (Kane & Macaulay, 1993), and sensitive topics such as substance use (Dotinga, Van den Eijnden, Bosveld, & Garretsen, 2005; Lord, Friday & Brennan, 2005), sexual behavior and abuse (Chun, Tavarez, Dann, & Anastario, 2011). While the impact of interviewer race and gender has been widely explored, a virtually unstudied characteristic in interviewer research is the interviewer's BMI and the effect it may have on answers to survey questions. Sperry, Thompson, Roehrig, and Vandello (2005) examined whether communicator body weight affects responses to a body dissatisfaction intervention program