Anti‐Fat Attitudes

Abstract

Human beings are among the fattest of all mammals and unlike other mammals that primarily use fat as insulation, humans tend to use fat as an energy reserve. Unfortunately, in today's rapidly modernizing world, neither use of fat has the survival value that it once had. In understanding anti‐fat attitudes, it is worth noting three social epidemiological facts about obesity. First, females are more at risk of becoming obese and therefore more likely to be the target of anti‐fat attitudes. Second, obesity is rare in primitive populations but increases rapidly with modernization and as a result anti‐fat attitudes are more likely in industrialized societies. Finally, obesity is related to social class – in some cultures the relationship is positive but in affluent societies, the relationship is negative. Thus, anti‐fat attitudes are related to the value a culture places on body weight.