The present study examined the impact of the food-addiction model of obesity on weight stigma directed at obese people. Participants (n = 625) were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions. They were asked to read either a food-addiction explanatory model of obesity or a nonaddiction model, and subsequently read a vignette describing a target person who met the characteristics of one of these models and was either obese or of normal weight. Questionnaires assessed participants’ stigmatization and blame of targets and their attribution of psychopathology toward targets. Additional questionnaires assessed stigma and blame directed toward obese people generally, and personal fear of fat. A manipulation check revealed that the food-addiction experimental condition did significantly increase belief in the food-addiction model. Significant main effects for addiction showed that the food-addiction model produced less stigma, less blame, and lower perceived psychopathology attributed to the target described in vignettes, regardless of the target's weight. The food-addiction model also produced less blame toward obese people in general and less fear of fat. The present findings suggest that presenting obesity as an addiction does not increase weight bias and could even be helpful in reducing the widespread prejudice against obese people.
Abstract
Summary
The present study examined the effects of the addiction model of obesity on weight stigma. As intended, the experimental manipulation check suggested that descriptive information about addiction was effective in influencing participants’ belief in the addictive properties of food and about addiction as a reason for obesity and body weight. The experimental results indicated that providing an addiction-based etiological explanation of obesity may reduce weight bias relative to providing a non-addiction-based explanation. These results may be surprising in light of the severe prejudice shown against addictive behaviors, such as smoking, substance abuse, and alcoholism (Bayer & Stuber, 2006; Keyes et al., 2010; Schomerus et al.,
2011). However, presenting obese individuals as physically dependent on food, rather than as free agents of their own dietary decisions, reduced blame toward these specific individuals and, indeed,
toward obese people in general. Controllability beliefs, and attributions of blame, are associated with negative beliefs about obese people and have been posited to underlie obesity stigma (Crandall,
1994; Puhl & Brownell, 2003). The interaction effect of addiction and target weight on one of the measures of blame (the 2-item WLOC) additionally suggests that blame was greater for the obese addicted target than the thinner addicted target, consistent with obesity stigma more generally.
Food addiction as a causal model of obesity. Effects on stigma, blame,
and perceived psychopathology
Janet D. Latner, Rebecca M. Puhl, Jessica M. Murakami, Kerry S. O’Brien
An online survey was hosted by Qualtrics.com, and participants were recruited from an online database (eLab) hosted by the Yale School of Management. Participants (n = 625) were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions. They were asked to read either a food-addiction explanatory model of obesity or a nonaddiction model, and subsequently read a vignette describing a target person who met the characteristics of one of these models and was either obese or of normal weight. Questionnaires assessed participants’ stigmatization and blame of targets and their attribution of psychopathology toward targets
Methodology
Sample Size
625 participants
Conclusion
Presenting a model of food addiction appeared to alleviate overall weight bias, reduce the blame directed at obese individuals for their actions and weight, reduce the perception that obese individuals are mentally impaired, and decrease the fear of personal weight gain.
These results are potentially encouraging given the limited progress in research indicating that weight stigma can be successfully reduced (Daníelsdóttir, O’Brien, & Ciao, 2010), as they suggest that
public representations of obesity as an addictive disorder do not increase weight bias and may even alleviate it. However, these findings should be interpreted and applied with caution. First, more
research is needed to test the accuracy of the addiction model itself.
Second, it is unknown what effect presenting obesity as a food addiction may have on obese individuals. For example, research is needed to examine whether it might affect or reduce their attempted behavioral changes to diet and exercise. Such results would need to be balanced against any potential decrease in stigma.
URL
Obesity, StigmaWeight bias, Food addiction, Weight controllability beliefs
Key Words
Latner, Janet D., et al. “Food Addiction as a Causal Model of Obesity. Effects on Stigma, Blame, and Perceived Psychopathology.” Appetite, vol. 77, June 2014, pp. 79–84. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.03.004.