User:PrettyINpink8
Fat Phobia is a fear of eating fat mostly because of the health dangers that are reported in the media of there being too much fat in our diet. Fat Phobia is also a term used to describe a fear and dislike of fat in oneself and in others.
Fat Phobia Scale[edit]
The original fat phobia scale was created in 1984 to determine and measure our fat phobic attitudes. It contained 50 items that were to be ranked on a five point scale. Recently, the scale has been changed to make it shorter. The fat phobia scale - short form now contains 14 items that are to be ranked on a five point scale to measure fat phobic attitudes. These 14 items include:
- Lazy/Industrious
- No Will Power/Has Will Power
- Attractive/Unattractive
- Good Self-Control/No Self-Control
- Fast/Slow
- Having Endurance/Having No Endurance
- Active/Inactive
- Weak/Strong
- Self-Indulgent/self-sacrificing
- Dislikes Food/Likes Food
- Shapeless/Shapely
- Undereats/Overeats
- Insecure/Secure
- Low Self-Esteem/High Self-Esteem[1]
Both scales have been widely used in research by students, psychologists and physicians to study, measure and treat fat phobic attitudes, fat prejudice and body image and stigmatization caused by obesity.[2]
Symptoms[edit]
People who are fat phobic by either being afraid of fat or have a fear of fat people, have a problem with weight issues and have become obsessed with losing weight. Other symptoms that you may see with a fat phobic include things such as believing that you can function well off of a minimum amount of calories, that there is an ideal weight for each height, that if you eat and enjoy fat you are seen as disgusting and that something is the matter with you and that you can control your fat distribution.[3] Things in the media, such as the look of celebrities and the way that models look, contribute negatively to one's self-esteem and force this fat phobic idea on them as well. Finally, they also may have a fear of eating fat itself, which can lead to malnutrition and further more anxiety, depression and irritablility.
Notes[edit]
- ^ http://www.yaleruddcenter.org/resources/bias_toolkit/toolkit/Module-1/1-08-SelfAssessmentTools/1-0808-FatPhobia.pdf
- ^ Bacon JG, Scheltema KE, Robinson BE. Fat phobia scale revisited: the short form. International Journal of Obesity. 2001; 25: 252-257.
- ^ Silversides, A. (1999). Have North Americans taken `fat phobia' too far?. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 160(12), 1690.