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BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

Changing attitudes towards obesity – results from a survey experiment

Authors: C. Luck-Sikorski, S. G. Riedel-Heller, J. C. Phelan

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Background

This experimental study in a population-based sample aimed to compare attitudes towards obesity following three different causal explanations for obesity (individual behavior, environmental factors, genetic factors).

Methods

The data were derived from an online representative sample. A random subsample of n = 407 participants was included. Two independent variables were investigated: cause of obesity as described in the vignette and cause of obesity as perceived by the participant regardless of vignette. Quality features of the vignettes (accuracy and bias of the vignette) were introduced as moderators to regression models. Three stigma-related outcomes (negative attitudes, blame and social distance) served as dependent variables.

Results

Inaccuracy and bias was ascribed to the social environmental and genetic vignettes more often than to the individual cause vignette. Overall, participants preferred individual causes (72.6%). While personal beliefs did not differ between the genetic and environmental cause conditions (Chi2 = 4.36, p = 0.113), both were different from the distribution seen in the individual cause vignette. Negative attitudes as well as blame were associated with the belief that individuals are responsible for obesity (b = 0.374, p = 0.003; 0.597, p < 0.001), but were not associated with vignette-manipulated causal explanation. The vignette presenting individual responsibility was associated with lower levels of social distance (b = −0.183, p = 0.043). After including perceived inaccuracy and bias as moderators, the individual responsibility vignette was associated with higher levels of blame (emphasis: b = 0.980, p = 0.010; bias: b = 0.778, p = 0.001) and the effect on social distance vanished.

Conclusions

This study shows that media and public health campaigns may solidify beliefs that obesity is due to individual causes and consequently increase stigma when presenting individual behavior as a cause of obesity. Public health messages that emphasize the role of social environmental or genetic causes may be ineffective because of entrenched beliefs.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Changing attitudes towards obesity – results from a survey experiment
Authors
C. Luck-Sikorski
S. G. Riedel-Heller
J. C. Phelan
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4275-y

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