Examining pre-adolescents' and adolescents' negative attitudes towards obese individuals : A developmental perspective.

Abstract

Obesity as a global epidemic is progressing on an upward trend. With the literature having established the effects of the prejudice faced by obese individuals, this study aims to investigate the influences underlying preadolescents’ and adolescents’ negative attitudes towards obese others using a survey questionnaire completed by 481 Primary 5 to Secondary 3 participants. Findings of this study suggest an association between the value of thin idealization and negative attitudes towards obese others, and provide support for a model whereby media exposure is a statistically significant partial mediator of the relationship between age and thin idealization. These findings and their implications are discussed in the backdrop of intervention efforts on prejudice against obese individuals in the current literature. Limitations of this study and future directions for research are highlighted also.