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Abstract
Research has shown that weight-related public health campaigns can inadvertently stigmatise individuals with obesity. We compared the effects of weight-normative (personal responsibility and public health crisis) versus weight-inclusive (Health at Every Size [HAES] and fat acceptance) campaign narratives on anti-fat attitudes and reactions to campaigns in two studies. In study 1, participants (n = 283) from a range of Body Mass Index (BMI) categories viewed one of four mock campaigns before rating their anti-fat-attitudes (dislike, fear of fat, willpower, social distance), and reactions to the campaign (motivation, stigma). In study 2, participants (n = 175) in overweight or obese BMI categories viewed one of four mock campaigns before rating their reactions to the campaign (motivation, stigma, self-efficacy). Study 1 results showed that weight-normative campaigns were perceived as significantly more stigmatising than weight-inclusive ones. However, weight-inclusive campaigns did not decrease anti-fat attitudes or increase motivation for health behaviour change in this sample. Similarly, study 2 results showed that the personal responsibility campaign was rated as significantly more stigmatising than other campaigns among women with overweight or obesity. Fat acceptance was rated as the least stigmatising campaign in this sample, but weight-inclusive narratives did not increase motivation or self-efficacy for health behaviour change. Future research should focus on developing campaign narratives that are non-stigmatising, motivating, and efficacious by addressing health behavior benefits irrespective of sex or weight.
Highlights
Obesity is the subject of intense scientific, political, and media attention
Study 1 compared the effect of weight-normative and weight-inclusive (HAES, fat acceptance) obesity narratives on anti-fat attitudes and reactions to campaigns in mock, weight-related public health campaigns among participants from a range of body mass index (BMI) categories
The current study compared weight-inclusive and weight-normative narratives in mock weight-related public health campaigns to measure their effect on anti-fat attitudes and reactions to campaigns
Summary
Obesity is the subject of intense scientific, political, and media attention. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) [1], in 2016 over 1.9 billion adults were overweight and, among them, more than 650 million were obese. Given its global prevalence and associated health risks, governments around the world have acted to combat obesity, including the use of weight-related public health campaigns [7]. Such campaigns highlight obesity as a modifiable risk factor for disease and emphasise personal responsibility for obesity, linking weight to caloric intake and physical activity [7,8,9]. Campaign narratives that emphasise weight when defining health will be referred to as ‘weight-normative’ [11]. Campaign narratives that do not focus on weight when defining health will be referred to as ‘weight-inclusive’
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