ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Korean versions of Fat Phobia Scale (short form) (F-scale), Beliefs About Obese Persons Scale (BAOP), and Attitudes Toward Obese Persons Scale (ATOP) which are scales of rating weight bias were assessed to find out the reliability and validity. METHODS: Korean versions of F-scale, BAOP, and ATOP were completed twice by 165 adults (85 males, 80 females; 73 hospital staffs, and 92 teachers). Validity was tested using Spearman correlation and factor analysis. Reliability was analyzed using test-retest analyses (Spearman Rho value). RESULTS: Using factor analyses, F-scale comprised of three factors explaining 55.20% of the total variance, BAOP two factors explaining 53.3% of the total variance, and ATOP six factors explaining 61.61% of the total variance. Spearman correlation between F-scale and ATOP was -0.28 to -0.36 (P < 0.05), suggesting that people who worried about being obese tended to have negative attitudes against obesity. The correlation between F-scale and BAOP was -0.25 to -0.27 (P < 0.05), meaning that people who worried about being obese had a tendency to blame obesity on environmental factors. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.79 to 0.90 for F-scale, 0.34 to 0.38 for BAOP and 0.82 to 0.87 for ATOP. Spearman Rho values were 0.47 for F-scale, 0.50 for BAOP, and 0.47 for ATOP (P < 0.05). The scores of each scale were not related to subjects' sex, BMI, body perception, and weight control efforts, while for ATOP scores older subjects were more likely to have a negative view for obesity (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The Korean version of F-scale, ATOP and BAOP could be considered as a tool to evaluate weight-bias however, further study is needed for appropriate application.