Study in Current Anthropology on body norms and fat stigma worldwide
Body Norms and Fat Stigma in Global Perspective
As recently as the 1990s, larger body types had positive associations in many cultures. As the mass media has spread images of ultra-slim bodies, however, heavier bodies have become stigmatized across the world.
A study by Arizona State University published in Current Anthropology, “Body Norms and Fat Stigma in Global Perspective,” used interviews with nearly 700 adults in 10 different countries and territories to survey general opinions on issues of body image. The study’s major findings include:
A negative fat stigma was present in all of the 10 places surveyed: American Samoa, Argentina, Iceland, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, United States, Tanzania.
According to results based on survey questions, fat stigma scores ranged from a low of 10.4 for Tanzania to a high of 15.0 for Paraguay, out of a possible total of 25. The highest fat stigma scores were not, as some might expect, in the United States or London, but rather in Mexico, Paraguay, and American Samoa. Across all cultures, higher fat stigma was strongly associated with lower education levels but not with gender, age level or overweight status.
Global ideas about obesity “include the notions that obesity is a disease and that fat reflects personal and social failing.”
The researchers concluded that this study provides clear evidence for a “profound global diffusion of negative ideas about obesity.” The authors state that this trend carries with it the potential to “proliferate associated prejudice and suffering.” Note to instructor: The suggested assignments are designed for flexibility. They can be used in whole or part and can be adapted to a particular task -- for example, the newswriting assignments could be applied to the writing of the headline, the lead, the nut graph or the full story. Material from the assignments could also be combined with other material, for example, in the writing of a background, feature or local-angle story.
Analysis assignments
Read the University of Arizona study "Body Norms and Fat Stigma in Global Perspective."
- Summarize the study in fewer than 40 words.
- Express the study's key term(s) in language a lay audience can understand.
- Evaluate the study's limitations. (For example: Do the results conflict with those of other reliable studies? Are there weaknesses in the study's data or research design?)
Read the issue-related Time article "Does Obesity Rehab for Kids Work?"
- If you were to rewrite the article based on knowledge of the study, what key changes would you make?
Newswriting assignments
- Write a lead (or headline or nut graph) based on the study.
- Spend 60 minutes exploring the issue by accessing sources of information other than the study. Write a lead (or headline or nut graph) based on the study but informed by the new information. Does the new information significantly change what one would write based on the study alone?
- Interview two sources with a stake in or knowledge of the issue. Be prepared to provide them with a short summary of the study in order to get their response to it. Write a 400-word article about the study incorporating material from the interviews.
- Spend additional time exploring the issue and then write a 1,200-word background article, focusing on major aspects of the issue.