Abstract
Background
The present weight stigma study examined whether attitudes toward and employability of a normal weight person can change after learning that the person had been obese.
Methods
Participants (N = 154) viewed an image of a normal weight woman and rated their impression of her. Next, participants rated their impression of her overweight image after learning how she had previously gained and subsequently lost weight.
Results
Participants rated the model far less favorably including perceived employability if they thought the once overweight model lost weight through surgery vs. diet and exercise. How the model initially gained the weight had little impact on participant ratings.
Conclusions
Surgical weight loss had a significant impact on personality judgments. These negative views extended to hiring decisions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Livingston EH. The incidence of bariatric surgery has plateaued in the US. Am J Surg. 2010;200:378–85.
Buchwald H, Avidor Y, Braunwald E, et al. Bariatric surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Med Assoc. 2008;292(14):1724–37.
Elfhag K, Rossner S. Who succeeds in maintaining weight loss? A conceptual review of factors associated with weight loss maintenance and weight regain. Obes Rev. 2005;6:67–85.
Vartanian LB, Fardouly J. The stigma of obesity surgery: negative evaluations based on weight loss history. Obes Surg. 2013;23:1545–50.
Fardouly J, Vartanian LB. Changes in weight bias following weight loss: the impact of weight loss method. Int J Obes. 2012;36:314–9.
Mattingly BA, Shambush MA, Hill AE. Shedding the pounds but not the stigma: negative attributions as a function of a target's method of weight loss. J Appl Biobehav Res. 2009;14(3):128–44.
Puhl RM, Heuer CA. The stigma of obesity: a review and update. Obesity. 2009;17(5):1–24.
Crandall CS. Prejudice against fat people: ideology and self-interest. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1994;66(5):882–94.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Statement of Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Statement of Human and Animal Rights
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Carels, R.A., Rossi, J., Borushok, J. et al. Changes in Weight Bias and Perceived Employability Following Weight Loss and Gain. OBES SURG 25, 568–570 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-014-1522-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-014-1522-5