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Looking Fat or Being Bad? Effects of Body Size and Eating Style on Peer Evaluation in Adolescents
Author(s) -
Gerrits Joanne,
De Ridder Denise T. D.,
De Wit John,
Kuijer Roeline
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00727.x
Subject(s) - overweight , psychology , style (visual arts) , peer influence , developmental psychology , body weight , obesity , clinical psychology , social psychology , medicine , archaeology , history
The present study examined adolescents' peer evaluations when information about body size (normal vs. overweight) and eating style (healthy vs. unhealthy) was provided. A study was conducted with a sample of 90 adolescents. Adolescents judged their peers on information about body size, but also about their eating style. The effect of body size was qualified by gender: Male adolescents were more positive about normal body weight peers, whereas females did not distinguish between normal weight and overweight peers. The results imply that not only are the consequences of unhealthy eating important; the behavior itself is also important. This holds promise for addressing adolescents' eating behavior.