Abstract
There is increasing scientific and public support for the notion that some foods may be addictive, and that poor weight control and obesity may, for some people, stem from having a food addiction. However, it remains unclear how a food addiction model (FAM) explanation for obesity and weight control will affect weight stigma. In two experiments (N = 530 and N = 690), we tested the effect of a food addiction explanation for obesity and weight control on weight stigma. In Experiment 1, participants who received a FAM explanation for weight control and obesity reported lower weight stigma scores (e.g., less dislike of ‘fat people’, and lower personal willpower blame) than those receiving an explanation emphasizing diet and exercise (F(4,525) = 7.675, p = 0.006; and F(4,525) = 5.393, p = 0.021, respectively). In Experiment 2, there was a significant group difference for the dislike of ‘fat people’ stigma measure (F(5,684) = 5.157, p = 0.006), but not for personal willpower weight stigma (F(5,684) = 0.217, p = 0.81). Participants receiving the diet and exercise explanation had greater dislike of ‘fat people’ than those in the FAM explanation and control group (p values < 0.05), with no difference between the FAM and control groups (p > 0.05). The FAM explanation for weight control and obesity did not increase weight stigma and resulted in lower stigma than the diet and exercise explanation that attributes obesity to personal control. The results highlight the importance of health messaging about the causes of obesity and the need for communications that do not exacerbate weight stigma.
Highlights
Research on the extent, nature, and impact of weight stigma suggests that weight stigma has increased over time in adults [1] and children [2] and is associated with a host of negative social and health outcomes [3]
We examined whether the food addiction model (FAM) explanation for weight control and obesity versus the traditional public health messaging around control of diet and exercise would affect weight stigma
Relative to the dominant public health narrative that obesity stems from lack of control over diet and exercise, the FAM explanation resulted in lower weight stigma
Summary
Nature, and impact of weight stigma ( termed weight bias, obesity stigma) suggests that weight stigma has increased over time in adults [1] and children [2] and is associated with a host of negative social and health outcomes [3]. Dominant public health messages on the cause of overweight and obesity remain focused, if simplistically, on individual control of diet and physical activity [15]. This individualistic public health narrative is increasingly criticised [16], as it ignores research on the myriad of uncontrollable factors contributing to weight control and obesity, such as neurophysiology, environment, and the interplay with genetics/epigenetics. Experimental evidence suggests that changing people’s attributions about the causes of obesity away from individual blame, and to more biologically and environmentally pre-determined factors, can help to reduce weight stigma [11]. Correcting public misattributions about weight has the potential to improve knowledge about the complex causes of obesity, and the potential to reduce weight stigma and discrimination [17]
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