Obesity Stereotypes Among Physicians, Medical and College Students, Bariatric Surgery Patients and Families

• Published in: Obesity surgery 1991-06, Vol.1 (2), p.171-176
• Main Authors: Cowan, Jr, GS, Smalley, MD, Defibaugh, N, Cowan, KB, Hiler, ML, Sehnert, W, James, S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0960-8923; 1708-0428
• DOI: 10.1381/096089291765561204

Cultural indoctrination throughout childhood largely defines adult value systems including stereotypic attitudes towards the obese. It is possible that medical education may alter physicians' earlier stereotypes of obesity. 156 subjects, comprising sex distinct adult groups, morbidly obese persons, their family members and significant others. college undergraduates, medical students, medical and surgical residents, and medical school faculty, were surveyed with a questionnaire. It required that each of 32 bipolar adjectives describing obese persons be answered on a -0 to 9-point scale. The adjectives were selected to provide a sweeping array of attributes used commonly to note differences among people (e.g. intelligent-unintelligent, happy-sad, complex-simple) with low values corresponding to the first, usually more favorable, adjective of each pair. Discriminant analysis identified only 5 of 32 adjective pairs (16%) as useful (p < 0.05) in isolating the respondent groups. Although it reached statistical significance, the magnitudes of these differences were not very substantive with reference to a 9-point scale. We conclude that obesity appears to carry a burdensome degree of societal prejudice, as reflected by negative stereotypes, which is largely unaffected by undergraduate or postgraduate medical education.