Montemarano Vanessa, Cassin Stephanie E
Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto M5B 2K3, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto M5B 2K3, Ontario, Canada.
Eat Behav. 2021 Apr;41:101507. doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2021.101507. Epub 2021 Apr 9.
Weight stigmatization and discrimination are pervasive issues that have numerous adverse consequences for those with excess weight. It has been proposed that some individuals may be addicted to hyperpalatable processed foods, resulting in weight promoting eating behaviours. The current study replicated and extended a study examining the effect of a food addiction explanation for eating behaviours on weight-based stigma and weight-controllability beliefs. Undergraduate students (N = 757) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions where they read a newspaper article accompanied by a photo of a woman 1) who was either of a higher body mass index (BMI) or a lower BMI, and 2) that attributed her eating behaviours to either food addiction or poor dietary and lifestyle choices. Stigma towards the woman and individuals with a higher BMI in general were assessed. Results indicated that the woman with a higher BMI elicited greater weight stigma. Attributing weight to food addiction increased perceptions of psychopathology towards the woman, whereas attributing weight to poor dietary and lifestyle choices elicited judgment towards the woman. Neither explanation about eating behaviours elicited stigma towards individuals with a higher BMI in general. Findings suggest that a food addiction explanation alone may not be sufficient to reduce weight stigma.
体重歧视和偏见是普遍存在的问题，对超重者会产生诸多不利影响。有人提出，一些人可能对高美味加工食品上瘾，从而导致促进体重增加的饮食行为。当前的研究重复并扩展了一项研究，该研究考察了用食物成瘾来解释饮食行为对基于体重的歧视以及体重可控性信念的影响。本科生（N = 757）被随机分配到四个条件之一，在这些条件下，他们阅读一篇配有一名女性照片的报纸文章，该女性1）体重指数（BMI）较高或较低，2）其饮食行为要么归因于食物成瘾，要么归因于不良的饮食和生活方式选择。对该女性以及总体上对BMI较高者的歧视进行了评估。结果表明，BMI较高的女性引发了更大的体重歧视。将体重归因于食物成瘾增加了对该女性心理病理学的认知，而将体重归因于不良的饮食和生活方式选择则引发了对该女性的评判。关于饮食行为的这两种解释都没有引发对总体上BMI较高者的歧视。研究结果表明，仅用食物成瘾来解释可能不足以减少体重歧视。
