Duncan Smith
In the more-proof-that-dieters-can't-win department, this takes the cake.
Even after dramatic weight loss, women who can finally rock skinny jeans may be stigmatized as fat, according to a study published in the journal Obesity.
Researchers set out to determine whether anti-fat prejudice persists against successful female dieters.
They asked men and women to read descriptions of a woman who had either lost 70 pounds (32 kilograms) or remained at a stable weight, and who was either currently obese or thin. Participants were asked to comment on the woman's attributes, including attractiveness, and discuss their overall dislike of fat people.
"We were surprised to find that currently thin women were viewed differently depending on their weight history," says Janet Latner, study leader at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. "Those who had been obese in the past were perceived as less attractive than those who had always been thin, despite having identical height and weight."
When participants were told that body weight is easy to control, their negative attitudes toward fat people increased, researchers also discovered.
The prejudice is disturbing since it's based on a misconception, says co-author Kerry O'Brien of the University of Manchester and Monash University in Melbourne. The best obesity research suggests that weight status is "rather uncontrollable, regardless of one's willpower, knowledge and dedication," he says.
The study did not look at jealousy. But knowing about a thin woman's weight-loss history can trigger a peer's own insecurities about accomplishing goals, said Christian Holle, an assistant professor of psychology at William Patterson University in Wayne, N.J., told WebMD. "They may begin to act resentful – or even mean – oftentimes without even realizing they are doing so."
So, let's see. After months of sweating at the gym and subsisting on cottage cheese, a woman finally slim downs. But acquaintances still act as if she has "fatso" branded on her forehead and pals resent her because she met her goal.
It sounds like more than a new wardrobe is in order – the successful dieter may need a new set of friends.
Have you noticed that people who slim down can't shed the fat stigma?