Obesity Stigma: Is the 'Food Addiction' Label Feeding the Problem?



Ruddock, Helen K, Orwin, Michael, Boyland, Emma J, Evans, Elizabeth H ORCID: 0000-0002-3432-3778 and Hardman, Charlotte A
(2019) Obesity Stigma: Is the 'Food Addiction' Label Feeding the Problem? Nutrients, 11 (9).

WarningThere is a more recent version of this item available.
[img] Text
Ruddock et al 2019 AAM.pdf - Author Accepted Manuscript

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Obesity is often attributed to an addiction to high-calorie foods. However, the effect of "food addiction" explanations on weight-related stigma remains unclear. In two online studies, participants (n = 439, n = 523, respectively, recruited from separate samples) read a vignette about a target female who was described as 'very overweight'. Participants were randomly allocated to one of three conditions which differed in the information provided in the vignette: (1) in the "medical condition", the target had been diagnosed with food addiction by her doctor; (2) in the "self-diagnosed condition", the target believed herself to be a food addict; (3) in the control condition, there was no reference to food addiction. Participants then completed questionnaires measuring target-specific stigma (i.e., stigma towards the female described in the vignette), general stigma towards obesity (both studies), addiction-like eating behavior and causal beliefs about addiction (Study 2 only). In Study 1, participants in the medical and self-diagnosed food addiction conditions demonstrated greater target-specific stigma relative to the control condition. In Study 2, participants in the medical condition had greater target-specific stigma than the control condition but only those with low levels of addiction-like eating behavior. There was no effect of condition on general weight-based stigma in either study. These findings suggest that the food addiction label may increase stigmatizing attitudes towards a person with obesity, particularly within individuals with low levels of addiction-like eating behavior.

Item Type: Article
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 30 Aug 2019 08:05
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 00:28
DOI: 10.3390/nu11092100
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3052878

Available Versions of this Item