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New research provides a possible explanation for my instinctive, negative thoughts when I see someone severely overweight. A ugly form of discrimination that apparently stems from my need to conform.
Sizeism
‘Sizeism’ I don’t think there’s a Dutch word for that. Wiki doesn’t have a Dutch page for it at least. We seem to have no word for discrimination based on weight. Like ‘racism’ or ‘sexism’.
‘Omvangism?’ No, that doesn’t sound good:
Hello, I’m Kenneth and I’m a sizeist.
A ‘weight watcher,’ that sounds better.
I’m a ‘weight watcher.’
But I’m working hard on that. I’ve been writing articles about nutrition and exercise for almost ten years now. Over the years, I’ve come to understand more and more that I tend to overestimate the role of personal responsibility for body weight. I’ve described this here before. It’s an important reason why I follow developments in the search for weight loss medication with so much interest.
Each new finding reveals another link in the enormously complex array of processes that determine your energy balance. Substances that suppress or stimulate your appetite, and substances that determine how quickly you expend that energy. These are all studies in which terms like ‘willpower,’ ‘self-control,’ and ‘motivation’ do not occur. Although; I have also described a study that showed that ‘self-control’ is partly determined by the chemistry of your brain.
Not Judging
Objectively, I know that I shouldn’t be ready with a judgment when I see someone overweight. But instinctively I do. For example, that one second when I think, ‘Should you be doing that?’ while standing in the same line at McDonald’s.
Fortunately, I’m becoming aware of the mistake in such thoughts more and more quickly. The only difference is that my body gets away with it when I give in to every food craving, and that of the other person doesn’t. So, it’s easy to judge that.
Recently, there was a program on TV that really put my instinctive weight watching to the test. It was a documentary about Britons who are declared unfit for work due to obesity and receive benefits. A policy that many hard-working taxpayers will question. Many politicians too. Former British Prime Minister Cameron proposed ending the provision of benefits if obesity was the reason someone was unable to work in early 2015.
But I wasn’t so much interested in that substantive discussion. It was purely about my own reaction. This was a real test: A woman with extreme obesity who directs her husband in housework from her bed while playing on the PlayStation. Not the easiest person to evoke empathy for.
The usual judgments didn’t make it past halfway through my head, and I managed not to articulate them. My wife, however, made less effort to keep her judgment to herself:
“Look at her sitting there. Playing games while letting her husband clean the house. Too lazy to get off your butt and just receiving benefits because you’ve stuffed yourself with food”. A bit similar to the thoughts I successfully suppressed a moment earlier.
(Why) Do I Have Something Against Fat People?
If I’m aware that judging based on weight is rather cheap, why the innate need? I didn’t learn it at home; my mother struggled with overweight almost her entire life. ‘Teasing fatties’ wasn’t a regular activity in our home.
New research may provide an answer to this question. It apparently lies in the ‘chemistry of my personality’; my personal mix of five traits:
- Conscientiousness: The need to be organized and reliable. Possesses self-discipline, is goal-oriented, and prefers to work methodically. Can also be seen as stubborn or focused.
- Agreeableness: Altruism/service orientation. Shows empathy and the need for cooperation. Quickly willing to help.
- Openness: The extent to which you are open to new experiences. Think of adventure, unusual ideas, and intellectual curiosity.
- Neuroticism: Prone to psychological pressure. Quickly inclined to negative thoughts and vulnerability.
- Extraversion: Energetic, assertive, social. Seeks stimulation in the company of others. Likes to talk.
These five traits together form the so-called
Five Factor model of personality. I’ve only briefly described them here. You can have a low or high degree of each trait. The total mix would then add up to the sum of your personality.
American researchers have linked certain of these personality traits to a phobia of obesity and the perpetuation of certain stereotypes about obesity.
Relationship between Personality and One’s Own Body
Once, attempts were made to attribute certain character traits to body type. The well-known ecto-, endo-, and mesomorph body types were designed for that purpose. It quickly turned out to lead nowhere. Except to the scandal years later when the nude photos of the students who had participated in the study were found. Many of them now held prominent positions.
But conversely, connections can be made between someone’s personality, their body, and their opinions about it. For example, people with a high degree of ‘neuroticism’ are more likely to have negative feelings about obesity, they are more afraid of obesity, speak more negatively about their own body with friends and family, and are more likely to experience weight discrimination.
People with a high degree of ‘conscientiousness’ tend to have a lower weight on average and a lower chance of long-term obesity.
Relationship between Personality and Opinions about Another’s Body
However, researchers from Florida State University were particularly interested in the influence of these (mix of) personality traits and the opinions formed about someone else’s appearance.
There is a social dimension to body weight… People have attitudes about body weight and what contributes to obesity. People also often vocalize their fears about how they look and what they need to do to lose weight. We wanted to know whether personality contributes to this social experience.
Angelina Sutin, Florida State University
The team conducted interviews with over three thousand women and children using carefully crafted surveys. These surveys were intended to compare the behavior and opinions of the participants with their profile according to the
Five Factor model of personality.
The researchers saw the same connections between neuroticism and negative attitudes, and also between higher levels of conscientiousness and positive attitudes and behavior. Additionally, however, they also saw a remarkable outcome: a link between a high degree of ‘conscientiousness’ and a greater fear of fat and obesity (in someone else).
“Following the Norm”
One of the characteristics of ‘conscientiousness’ is, according to the researchers, that these are people who attach great importance to following societal norms. One of those norms is a healthy weight, despite the fact that more and more people are overweight. In this context, the researchers refer to the fact that almost 2/3 of the American population is overweight or obese.
People with a high degree of ‘conscientiousness’ are more inclined to follow rules and conform to social norms. According to the researchers, they can adopt associated ideals. This can then result in a phobia of obesity.
That such individuals tolerate or even reinforce stereotypes about obesity could be consistent with their need to meet societal norms in general…
…If people have a negative attitude towards obesity, this can affect policy making and execution. It can perpetuate the stigma of obesity rather than finding a constructive way to deal with it.
The discussion about disability due to severe obesity and whether or not to grant benefits for this, I think is a good example. In recent decades, of course, we can question ‘the norm’ when it comes to weight. Discussions we have also had here. For example, in the “article obesity the new norm?”
Extremes Repel Each Other
What strikes me is that the Americans in their research emphasize ‘the norm’ so much in the characteristic of ‘conscientiousness’.
As far as I can tell, ‘conscientiousness’ mainly refers to the degree of self-discipline, systematic work, goal setting. You know; the fixed ingredients for the caption on an Instagram photo of a Fit girl.
If ‘conscientiousness’ is indeed a dominant personal trait, then that naturally contradicts someone who has a low degree of conscientiousness. Just as introverted people may be annoyed when an extroverted person walks into a party and commands all attention in 5 seconds. The two are just so different that empathizing becomes a lot more difficult.
I’m not the most ‘conscientious’ person myself. At most ‘reasonable’. But apparently conscientious enough to be able to be bothered by people who seem to have no plan at all. I should mainly see that as my problem.
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