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Introductory nutrition students' attitudes towards obesity: ethnic and gender differences
Author(s) -
Harris Mary B.,
Sandoval Wendy M.,
Cortese Sherise
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of consumer studies and home economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.775
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1470-6431
pISSN - 0309-3891
DOI - 10.1111/j.1470-6431.1998.tb00734.x
Subject(s) - ethnic group , obesity , multiculturalism , psychology , class (philosophy) , social psychology , gerontology , medicine , clinical psychology , sociology , pedagogy , endocrinology , artificial intelligence , anthropology , computer science
The objectives of this study were to discover whether a multicultural sample of college students enrolled in an introductory nutrition class held negative attitudes towards personal obesity and obesity in others, whether these attitudes differed between men and women and whether personal obesity and attitudes towards obesity were related to ethnicity. Introductory nutrition students ( n =390) from five ethnic groups completed an anonymous questionnaire containing various measures of opinions relevant to obesity. Attitudes towards obesity in others and oneself were somewhat negative. Women had higher restraint scales than men, were more dissatisfied with their weight and preferred a thinner figure than the one they considered healthiest. Similar gender differences were found for all ethnic groups. The results imply that education about the stereotyping of obesity should be included in nutrition education courses.