Western Notions Of Obesity Globalizing

A new study in the April, 2011 issue of the journal Current Anthropology suggests that the stigma associated with obesity often encountered in Western cultures has spread rapidly to countries that have traditionally valued large bodies. Researchers from Arizona State University surveyed adults in 10 countries around the world, including Argentina, Iceland, Mexico, Paraguay, New Zealand, the UK and the US, on their attitudes toward obesity. The results were compared with respondents in countries which traditionally had positive attitudes toward fatness, including American Samoa, Puerto Rico and Tanzania. The researchers found that negative attitudes toward large bodies in were present in every country they surveyed. In fact, they said that overweight individuals are increasingly regarded as lazy, ugly, undesirable, or lacking in self control. The study didn't investigate the cause of this rapid shift in attitude. However, they speculate that one contributing factor may actually be our anti-obesity public health messages. It remains to be seen what kind of societal impacts these negative notions of obesity will have on these cultures. [via Medical News Today]

 

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