ORIGINAL ARTICLE Obesity discrimination: the role of physical appearance, personal ideology, and anti-fat prejudice KS O’Brien 1,2 , JD Latner 3 , D Ebneter 3 and JA Hunter 4 OBJECTIVE: Self-report measures of anti-fat prejudice are regularly used by the field, however, there is no research showing a relationship between explicit measures of anti-fat prejudice and the behavioral manifestation of them; obesity discrimination. The present study examined whether a recently developed measure of anti-fat prejudice, the universal measure of bias (UMB), along with other correlates of prejudicial attitudes and beliefs (that is, authoritarianism, social dominance orientation; SDO, physical appearance investment) predict obesity discrimination. METHOD: Under the guise of a personnel selection task, participants (n ¼ 102) gave assessments of obese and non-obese females applying for a managerial position across a number of selection criteria (for example, starting salary, likelihood of selecting). Participants viewed resumes that had attached either a photo of a pre-bariatric surgery obese female (body mass index (BMI) ¼ 38–41) or a photo of the same female post-bariatric surgery (BMI ¼ 22–24). Participants also completed measures of anti-fat prejudice (UMB) authoritarianism, SDO, physical appearance evaluation and orientation. RESULTS: Obesity discrimination was displayed across all selection criteria. Higher UMB subscale scores (distance and negative judgement), authoritarianism, physical appearance evaluation and orientation were associated with greater obesity discrimination. In regression models, UMB ‘distance’ was a predictor of obesity discrimination for perceived leadership potential, starting salary, and overall employability. UMB ‘negative judgement’ predicted discrimination for starting salary; and authoritarianism predicted likelihood of selecting an obese applicant and candidate ranking. Finally, physical appearance evaluation and appearance orientation predicted obesity discrimination for predicted career success and leadership potential, respectively. CONCLUSION: Self-report measures of prejudice act as surrogates for discrimination, but there has been no empirical support for the validity of explicit measures of anti-fat prejudice. Here, the UMB, authoritarianism, and physical appearance investment predicted obesity discrimination. The present results provide support for the use of these measures by researchers seeking to assess, understand, and reduce anti-fat prejudice and discrimination. International Journal of Obesity advance online publication, 24 April 2012; doi:10.1038/ijo.2012.52 Keywords: anti-fat prejudice; obesity discrimination; body image; authoritarianism; anti-fat; stigma INTRODUCTION Alongside the increasing rates of overweight and obesity in the population 1 is a somewhat counterintuitive increase in prejudice and discrimination toward people perceived as being fat. 2,3 Prejudice, a preconceived adverse judgment or opinion, is greater when directed at those perceived as fat (anti-fat prejudice) than when directed at other groups commonly targeted for mistreatment (that is, Muslims and homosexuals). 4 Anti-fat prejudice is prevalent in education, health and employment settings. 5–7 For example, Puhl et al. 8 found that dieticians, who are tasked with helping obese clients, displayed high levels of anti-fat prejudice that may result in discriminatory practices and interactions. Similarly, Schwartz et al. 9 found that health professionals and obesity researchers attending an international conference on obesity displayed significant levels of implicit weight stigma. Anti-fat prejudice appears so ingrained and normative that parents have been shown to discriminate, whether consciously or unconsciously, when providing financial support to their overweight daughters for college. 10 Self-reported experiences of obesity discrimination are also common among obese individuals and are associated with problems such as depression, psychiatric symptoms, low self-esteem, and poor body image. 11 Importantly, obesity discrimination, the posited behavioral manifestation of anti-fat prejudice, has increased by 66% over the past decade with prevalence rates now comparable to race-based discrimination. 2,12 Surprisingly, there is little legal recourse available to combat obesity discrimination, whereas many other targets of discrimination are protected by legal deterrents. 13 As with other emerging fields, the literature in this area has largely been descriptive, 13 observing and documenting the occurrence of prejudice. Much less research has sought to explicate the reasons for anti-fat prejudice. The limited research seeking to understand the reasons for anti-fat prejudice suggests that attributions regarding the causes of obesity (for example, lack of personal control, laziness, gluttony), and stereotypical characteristics of the obese individual (for example, smelly, stupid) may underpin anti-fat prejudice. 13 However, recent research suggests that constructs such as disgust, 14 and importance placed on physical appearance (for example, body image) also underpin anti-fat prejudice. 15,16 For example, Vartanian 14 found that disgust was related to a relative dislike of fat people 1 Behavioural Studies, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; 2 School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; 3 Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA and 4 Psychology Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Correspondence: Dr KS O’Brien, Behavioural Studies, Monash University, Caulfield East Campus, PO Box 197, Melbourne, Victoria VIC3145, Australia. Email: kerrykez@gmail.com Received 6 September 2011; revised 20 February 2012; accepted 1 March 2012 International Journal of Obesity (2012) 1–6 & 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved 0307-0565/12 www.nature.com/ijo