title: Fat phobia: measuring, understanding, and changing anti-fat attitudes.
abstract: We examined fat phobia, defined as a pathological fear of fatness, by constructing the Fat Phobia Scale, determining its reliability and validity, examining correlates of fat phobia, and using a treatment approach designed to decrease fat phobia. Study 1 describes the development of the Fat Phobia Scale, a 50-item, modified 5-point semantic differential scale. Subjects (974 females and 117 males) completed the scale; factor analysis yielded six factors. Respondents who are average weight, female, younger, have more than a high school education, or are nonmedical professionals are more likely to have fat phobic attitudes. Study 2 examines fat phobic attitudes of women (N = 40) who had negative feelings about their bodies. Subjects completed the Fat Phobia Scale before and after a treatment approach designed to reduce their feelings of responsibility for fatness. Total scores on the Fat Phobia Scale and scores on all six factors decreased significantly, indicating a decrease in fat phobia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Practice and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Bacon
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001290:Attitude; D001828:Body Image; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D012659:Semantic Differential; D013240:Stereotyping