IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v5y2016i1p12-d64926.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Decreasing Obesity and Obesity Stigma: Socio-Demographic Differences in Beliefs about Causes of and Responsibility for Obesity

Author

Listed:
  • Christy Brady

    (Department of Sociology, University of Kentucky, 1515 Patterson Office Tower, Lexington, KY 40506-0027, USA)

Abstract

Obesity is a stigmatized condition, and research has shown that obesity stigma varies based on the perceived cause of obesity. It is important that public health professionals develop policy and campaigns that resonate with specific populations while avoiding an increase in harmful stigma. This study identifies socio-demographic differences in causal attributions of obesity and beliefs about responsibility for obesity. Using data from a survey of 923 people in the United States conducted by ABC New/Time Magazine, attributions of cause and responsibility are analyzed using Ordinary Least Squares regression. Beliefs about cause and responsibility fall on a continuum from primarily individual cause and personal responsibility to primarily societal cause and social responsibility. In general, women and minority racial groups are found to be more likely to identify causes over which individuals have little control and place responsibility on societal factors than men and Whites. People in higher income categories are found to be more likely to identify individual responsibility for obesity. Findings from this study can be used to shape information and public health policy to address obesity in ways that will not exacerbate obesity stigma as well as to create programs that will be customized for specific communities based on their existing beliefs.

Suggested Citation

  • Christy Brady, 2016. "Decreasing Obesity and Obesity Stigma: Socio-Demographic Differences in Beliefs about Causes of and Responsibility for Obesity," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-10, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:5:y:2016:i:1:p:12-:d:64926
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/5/1/12/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/5/1/12/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lewis, Sophie & Thomas, Samantha L. & Blood, R. Warwick & Castle, David J. & Hyde, Jim & Komesaroff, Paul A., 2011. "How do obese individuals perceive and respond to the different types of obesity stigma that they encounter in their daily lives? A qualitative study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(9), pages 1349-1356.
    2. Muennig, P. & Lubetkin, E. & Jia, H. & Franks, P., 2006. "Gender and the burden of disease attributable to obesity," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 96(9), pages 1662-1668.
    3. Susan Averett & Sanders Korenman, 1996. "The Economic Reality of the Beauty Myth," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 31(2), pages 304-330.
    4. Borrell, L.N. & Samuel, L., 2014. "Body mass index categories and mortality risk in US adults: The effect of overweight and obesity on advancing death," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 104(3), pages 512-519.
    5. Anna, Petrenko, 2016. "Мaркування готової продукції як складова частина інформаційного забезпечення маркетингової діяльності підприємств овочепродуктового підкомплексу," Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 2(1), March.
    6. McLean, R.A. & Moon, M., 1980. "Health, obesity, and earnings," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 70(9), pages 1006-1009.
    7. Sikorski, Claudia & Luppa, Melanie & Angermeyer, Matthias C. & Schomerus, Georg & Link, Bruce & Riedel-Heller, Steffi G., 2015. "The association of BMI and social distance towards obese individuals is mediated by sympathy and understanding," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 25-30.
    8. Brewis, Alexandra A. & Hruschka, Daniel J. & Wutich, Amber, 2011. "Vulnerability to fat-stigma in women's everyday relationships," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(4), pages 491-497, August.
    9. Puhl, R.M. & Heuer, C.A., 2010. "Obesity stigma: Important considerations for public health," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(6), pages 1019-1028.
    10. Mary A. Burke & Frank Heiland, 2008. "Race, obesity, and the puzzle of gender specificity," Working Papers 08-8, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hossein Zare & Danielle D. Gaskin & Roland J. Thorpe, 2021. "Income Inequality and Obesity among US Adults 1999–2016: Does Sex Matter?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-13, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mooney, Stephen J. & El-Sayed, Abdulrahman M., 2016. "Stigma and the etiology of depression among the obese: An agent-based exploration," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 1-7.
    2. Md. Alauddin Majumder, 2013. "Does Obesity Matter for Wages? Evidence from the United States," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 32(2), pages 200-217, June.
    3. Caliendo, Marco & Gehrsitz, Markus, 2016. "Obesity and the labor market: A fresh look at the weight penalty," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 209-225.
    4. Ali, Mir M. & Amialchuk, Aliaksandr & Rizzo, John A., 2012. "The influence of body weight on social network ties among adolescents," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 20-34.
    5. Pierre-André CHIAPPORI & Sonia OREFFICE & Climent QUINTANA-DOMEQUE, 2016. "Black-White Marital Matching: Race, Anthtopometrics and Socioeconomics," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(4), pages 399-421, December.
    6. Johansson, Edvard & Böckerman, Petri & Kiiskinen, Urpo & Heliövaara, Markku, 2009. "Obesity and labour market success in Finland: The difference between having a high BMI and being fat," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 36-45, March.
    7. Barlösius, Eva & Philipps, Axel, 2015. "Felt stigma and obesity: Introducing the generalized other," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 9-15.
    8. Hamermesh, Daniel S & Biddle, Jeff E, 1994. "Beauty and the Labor Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(5), pages 1174-1194, December.
    9. Kinge, Jonas Minet, 2015. "Body mass index and employment status: a new look," HERO Online Working Paper Series 2015:3, University of Oslo, Health Economics Research Programme.
    10. Kinge, Jonas Minet, 2016. "Waist circumference, body mass index and employment outcomes," HERO Online Working Paper Series 2016:4, University of Oslo, Health Economics Research Programme.
    11. Morris, Stephen, 2006. "Body mass index and occupational attainment," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 347-364, March.
    12. Wu, Hania Fei, 2021. "Social determination, health selection or indirect selection? Examining the causal directions between socioeconomic status and obesity in the Chinese adult population," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    13. Cawley, John & Han, Euna & Norton, Edward C., 2009. "Obesity and labor market outcomes among legal immigrants to the United States from developing countries," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 153-164, July.
    14. Christina Hansen Edwards & Johan Håkon Bjørngaard & Jonas Minet Kinge, 2021. "The relationship between body mass index and income: Using genetic variants from HUNT as instrumental variables," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(8), pages 1933-1949, August.
    15. Mary A. Burke & Frank Heiland, 2011. "Explaining gender-specific racial differences in obesity using biased self-reports of food intake," Working Papers 11-2, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    16. Ali, Mir M. & Rizzo, John A. & Amialchuk, Aliaksandr & Heiland, Frank, 2014. "Racial differences in the influence of female adolescents’ body size on dating and sex," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 140-152.
    17. Brewis, Alexandra A., 2014. "Stigma and the perpetuation of obesity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 152-158.
    18. Fletcher, Jason M., 2014. "The interplay between gender, race and weight status: Self perceptions and social consequences," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 14(C), pages 79-91.
    19. Kinge, Jonas Minet, 2016. "Body mass index and employment status: A new look," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 117-125.
    20. Vivian Welch & Christine M. Mathew & Panteha Babelmorad & Yanfei Li & Elizabeth T. Ghogomu & Johan Borg & Monserrat Conde & Elizabeth Kristjansson & Anne Lyddiatt & Sue Marcus & Jason W. Nickerson & K, 2021. "Health, social care and technological interventions to improve functional ability of older adults living at home: An evidence and gap map," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    obesity; stigma; public health;
    All these keywords.

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:5:y:2016:i:1:p:12-:d:64926. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.