Department of Psychology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, 96822-2294, USA.
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 2530 Dole Street, Sakamaki C400, Honolulu, HI, 96822-2294, USA.
Eat Weight Disord. 2020 Jun;25(3):643-648. doi: 10.1007/s40519-019-00666-z. Epub 2019 Mar 11.
Previous research has found that fear of fat, or the fear of gaining weight, is fairly common within both normative and clinical populations. Similarly, weight bias, or biased attitudes directed at obese individuals, has been found across multiple segments of society. A common link shared between fear of fat and weight bias is the inherent emphasis on anti-fat feelings. Previous research has demonstrated an anti-fat bias within media content. Therefore, the purpose of the current research is to examine exposure to appearance-focused media as a moderator of the relationship between fear of fat and weight bias.
One hundred and eighty-seven female participants (M = 21.05, M = 22.60) were administered a battery of assessments, including the Goldfarb Fear of Fat Scale and the Universal Measure of Bias of Fat Scale. Participants were also asked to report their frequency of exposure to appearance-focused media (TV and magazines).
Results of this study suggest that appearance-focused media partially moderated the relationship between fear of fat and weight bias.
This suggests the messages portrayed by the media may be strengthening the relationship between fear of gaining weight and discrimination directed at obese individuals. Understanding this relationship has important implications for reducing weight stigma.
Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.
先前的研究发现，对脂肪的恐惧，或对体重增加的恐惧，在正常人群和临床人群中都相当普遍。同样，体重偏见，或对肥胖者的偏见态度，也存在于社会的多个阶层。对脂肪的恐惧和体重偏见之间的一个共同联系是对反脂肪情绪的固有强调。先前的研究已经证明了媒体内容中的反脂肪偏见。因此，本研究的目的是检验以外观为重点的媒体接触作为恐惧脂肪和体重偏见之间关系的调节因素。
187 名女性参与者（M=21.05，M=22.60）接受了一系列评估，包括 Goldfarb 对脂肪的恐惧量表和普遍的脂肪偏见量表。参与者还被要求报告他们接触以外观为重点的媒体（电视和杂志）的频率。
本研究的结果表明，以外观为重点的媒体部分调节了对脂肪的恐惧和体重偏见之间的关系。
这表明媒体所描绘的信息可能正在加强对体重增加的恐惧与对肥胖者的歧视之间的关系。了解这种关系对于减少体重耻辱感具有重要意义。
五级，横断面描述性研究。
