Abstract
Although a history of research and social action has led to progress in the areas of race and gender bias, weight bias, or the negative attitudes and beliefs towards people with obesity, has been given considerably less focus. Given the increasing rates of obesity and the increase in the intensity and frequency of weight-bias, research is needed to elucidate factors associated with weight bias. This research quantitatively examined the relationship between three social ideologies, thin-ideal internalization, and social comparison processes in relation to weight bias. Participants were 153 adults from the United States recruited through Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk. The results suggested that, while social ideology remains significantly associated with weight bias, thin-ideal internalization and social comparisons are also significantly associated with both explicit and implicit weight bias. Future research may want to more closely align with body image research, and investigate the utility of body image interventions for weight bias.
