Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical University Hospital Tübingen, Osianderstr. 5, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
BMC Public Health. 2012 Jul 16;12:525. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-525.
Weight-related stigmatization is a public health problem. It impairs the psychological well-being of obese individuals and hinders them from adopting weight-loss behaviors. We conducted an experimental study to investigate weight stigmatization in work settings using a sample of experienced human resource (HR) professionals from a real-life employment setting.
In a cross-sectional, computer-based experimental study, a volunteer sample of 127 HR professionals (age: 41.1 ± 10.9 yrs., 56% female), who regularly make career decisions about other people, evaluated individuals shown in standardized photographs regarding work-related prestige and achievements. The photographed individuals differed with respect to gender, ethnicity, and Body Mass Index (BMI).
Participants underestimated the occupational prestige of obese individuals and overestimated it for normal-weight individuals. Obese people were more often disqualified from being hired and less often nominated for a supervisory position, while non-ethnic normal-weight individuals were favored. Stigmatization was most pronounced in obese females.
The data suggest that HR professionals are prone to pronounced weight stigmatization, especially in women. This highlights the need for interventions targeting this stigmatization as well as stigma-management strategies for obese individuals. Weight stigmatization and its consequences needs to be a topic that is more strongly addressed in clinical obesity care.
与体重相关的污名化是一个公共卫生问题。它会损害肥胖者的心理健康，阻碍他们采取减肥行为。我们进行了一项实验研究，使用来自现实工作环境的有经验的人力资源 (HR) 专业人员样本，研究工作环境中的体重污名化问题。
在一项横断面、基于计算机的实验研究中，我们招募了 127 名 HR 专业人员（年龄：41.1±10.9 岁，56%为女性）作为志愿者参与研究，这些专业人员经常对他人的职业做出决策，他们根据标准化照片评估个体的工作相关声望和成就。照片中的个体在性别、种族和体重指数 (BMI) 方面存在差异。
参与者低估了肥胖个体的职业声望，高估了正常体重个体的职业声望。肥胖者被录用的可能性更小，被提名担任监督职位的可能性更大，而非少数民族的正常体重个体则更受青睐。肥胖女性受到的污名化最为严重。
数据表明，人力资源专业人员容易产生明显的体重污名化，尤其是女性。这突出表明需要针对这种污名化进行干预，以及为肥胖者提供污名管理策略。体重污名化及其后果需要在临床肥胖治疗中得到更加强有力的关注。
