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Do media portrayals and social consensus information impact anti-fat attitudes and support for anti-weight discrimination laws and policies?

Author
Abstract
:

Although weight stigma and discrimination are associated with increased body dissatisfaction and eating disorder risk, reduced opportunities, and poorer well-being, there are few legal protections for such discrimination in the U.S. We addressed one barrier to enacting protective legislation - public attitudes toward anti-weight discrimination laws - by assessing the impact of media representations of fatness and information about peer attitudes. Using a 2 × 2 experimental design, participants (N = 525) completed baseline assessments of political conservatism and weight bias and were randomly assigned to view fat-negative or fat-positive media content that was ostensibly supported or not supported by their peers, followed by questionnaires assessing fat phobia and legislative attitudes. Two-way ANCOVAs controlling for baseline weight bias and political conservatism indicated a significant effect for media framing, with greater fat phobia and less support for anti-discrimination laws and policies among those who viewed the fat-negative frame; however, effects for ostensible peer support and interaction effects were not significant. These preliminary findings suggest that efforts to shift media rhetoric may enhance support for anti-weight discrimination laws. Future research should investigate other barriers to anti-discrimination legislation and estimate their impact on body dissatisfaction, eating disorder risk, and other indicators of population health.

Year of Publication
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2021
Journal
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Body image
Volume
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39
Number of Pages
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248-258
ISSN Number
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1740-1445
URL
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https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1740-1445(21)00124-8
DOI
:
10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.09.005
Short Title
:
Body Image
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