Fighting obesity or obese persons? An experimental assessment of obesity-related public health messages

Obese persons are vulnerable to widespread societal stigma and discrimination because of their weight, which leads to numerous consequences for their emotional and physical health. As obesity rates have increased, so have public health campaigns designed to prevent and/or reduce weight gain. While these campaigns are well-meaning, some may be misguided in their attempts to improve health, and may inadvertently encourage weight bias and stigmatize individuals, ultimately creating barriers to treatment and reinforcing societal prejudice toward obese persons. Given the lack of formal assessment of stigma in these campaigns, this study examined public perceptions of obesity-related public health messages with specific emphasis on the extent to which messages promote stigmatization of obesity or obese people. Data were collected on-line from a nationally representative sample of 1,014 American adults. Participants viewed a random selection of 10 (from 30 total) messages from major obesity public health campaigns, and rated each message according to positive and negative descriptors, including whether it was stigmatizing or motivating. Participants responded most favorably to message themes of fruit and vegetable consumption, and general messages involving multiple health behaviors. Messages that have been publicly criticized for stigmatizing content received the most negative ratings from participants, and the lowest intentions to comply with message content. These findings have important implications for framing messages in public health campaigns to address obesity, and suggest that certain types of messages may lead to increased motivation for behavior change among the public, whereas others may be perceived as stigmatizing and instill less motivation.