Adden, Emma (2023) The Influence of Weight Loss Discourses on Fat People’s Well-being. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
In recent years, there has been an increase in the amount of people sharing their weight loss journeys online. This leads to the question how different weight loss discourses may affect fat peoples’ well-being. To investigate this, we used a between-subjects experimental study focusing on two weight loss discourses, a ‘health’ and a ‘fitting-in’ discourse, as well as a control group. We measured how these different weight loss discourses affect fat peoples’ body satisfaction, their need to control weight, as well as the internalization of stigma, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms. 302 participants (N=298) who were randomly assigned and selected based on their BMI and gender,completed the online study on a US-based survey platform. Precisely, selection criteria required each individual to have a BMI over 30 and female. We hypothesized that the ‘fitting-in’ and the ‘health’ condition may have a more drastic impact on the dependent variables than the control group, simultaneously, we expected, that one manipulation condition may have a more drastic effect on the dependent variables than the other. Analysis using one-way between subject ANOVA indicated no statistically significant effects. This may have been due to possible limitations in the research design itself, or also limitations in scales used. Future research should take these into account and focus on more specific demographics of people and more specific dependent variables. Despite the non-significant effects, this study cannot only be used for implications for future research, but also shines a light on a newly developed scheme in the media. Keywords: Weight loss, health, fitting-in, fat stigma, well-being
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Supervisor name: | Koc, Y. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Mar 2023 09:31 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Mar 2023 09:31 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/1836 |
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