Are Dietitians With Obesity Perceived as Competent and Warm? Applying the Stereotype Content Model to Weight Stigma in Brazil.

The aim of this study was to understand how dietitians' body size influences perceived competence and warmth, based on the Stereotype Content Model (SCM). Online data were collected from 1,039 Brazilians, who were either laypeople, registered dietitians, or nutrition students. Participants rated the competence and warmth dimensions of three dietitians who differed in sex, body weight, and age. Participants also indicated how likelythey would consult or recommend each dietitian for nutritional advice, and indicated their attitudes toward people with obesity (PWO) [using The Antifat Attitudes Test (AFAT)]. Laypeople attributed less competence and warmth to all profiles compared to dietitians and students (p < 0.001). Three clusters occupied the SCM warmth-by-competence space. However, the clusters were different among groups (laypeople, dietitians, and students). For lay participants, the woman without overweight, the older woman, and the older man were located in the high competence/medium warmth cluster. Meanwhile, the woman with obesity was located in the medium competence/high warmth cluster. The dietitians and students map found the woman with obesity and the older woman in a high competence and warmth cluster. In general, the woman with obesity, the man without obesity, and the older man can be classified as ambivalent stereotypes, the woman being perceived as more warm than competent and the men more competent than warm. Participants with high AFAT scores were less likely to consult or recommend to a family member a dietitian with obesity. This study contributes to identifying ambivalent stereotypes for dietitians. Dietitians with obesity can be seen as warm but less competent. Also, although less intense than laypeople, dietitians, and students exhibited weight stigma. These findings can foster important discussions about weight stigma and emphasize the need to increase population awareness about the causes of obesity.

Do Registered Dietitians, Nutrition Students, and Laypeople Perceive Individuals with Obesity Differently?

(1) Background: Obesity is associated with significant social consequences, and individuals with obesity are regularly affected by weight-related stigmatization experiences. This study compares antifat attitudes among registered dietitians (RD), nutrition students, and laypeople and assesses which factors related to the perceived causes of obesity influence these attitudes. (2) Methods: An online survey was conducted in Brazil with RD (n = 336), nutrition students (n = 300), and laypeople (n = 403) with questionnaires assessing antifat attitudes and perceived causes of obesity. (3) Results: All groups presented low antifat attitudes. Minor differences in antifat attitudes were found among the three groups. Compared to RDs and nutrition students, laypeople presented higher Weight Control/Blame scores, but with a small effect size (η2 = 0.01). Weight bias was predicted by age, sex, and body mass index. External, social, and financial factors were not perceived to be very important in the development of obesity by RD and students. (4) Conclusions: Since slight differences were seen among RD and students compared to laypeople, and some perceptions of the causes of obesity indicate a stigmatized view. It is essential to place a greater focus on educating and updating these health professionals and students about weight stigma and its consequences for the mental and physical health of individuals.

Right Wing Autoritharism, Social Dominance Orientation, Controllability of the Weight and their Relationship with Antifat Attitudes / Autoritarismo, orientación a la dominancia social, controlabilidad del peso y su relación con las actitudes antiobesos

Antifat attitudes (AFA) refer to stereotyping based on people's weight. Literature suggests that people who have an ideologically conservative outlook on life also report negative attitudes toward obese people. Also, it is well established that one of the roots of AFA is the perception that prejudiced individuals have about the controllability of the weight. Therefore, in the current study it is analyzed if Right Wing Autoritharism (RWA, predisposition that individuals have to follow the dictates of a strong leader and traditional and conventional values) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO, the desire that one's ingroup dominates other outgroups) predicts prejudice toward obese people and if controllability of the weight mediates this relationship. 456 female students of the UNED (Spanish Open University) from 18 to 35 years were part of the final sample of the study. Results showed that RWA, SDO, controllability and AFA were positively correlated and that the relationship between RWA, SDO and AFA was mediated by the controllability of the weight.

Las actitudes antiobesos hacen referencia a los estereotipos sobre las personas con problemas de peso. La literatura sugiere que la gente que tiene una visión ideológica conservadora también presenta actitudes negativas hacia las personas obesas. Es un hecho bien establecido que una de las raíces de las actitudes negativas hacia los obesos es la percepción que tienen las personas prejuiciosas sobre la controlabilidad del peso. En el presente estudio se ha analizado si el autoritarismo (predisposición que tienen los individuos a seguir los dictados de un líder así como a tener valores convencionales y tradicionales) y la orientación a la dominancia social (el deseo de que el endogrupo domine al resto de exogrupos) predice el prejuicio hacia las personas obesas y si la controlabilidad del peso media esta relación. Para ello, se seleccionaron 456 mujeres estudiantes de la Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) de 18 a 35 años. Los resultados pusieron de manifiesto que el autoritarismo, la orientación a la dominancia social, la controlabilidad del peso y las actitudes antiobesos estaban positivamente correlacionadas, y que la controlabilidad mediaba la relación entre las variables ideológicas y la actitud antiobesos.