Key result
Explicit anti-fat bias does not differ between American and Mexican physical education students despite shared implicit bias.
Why the study?
Stigmatization due to anti-fat bias may affect services provided by physical education and exercise science professionals, but levels of such bias in these groups were not well characterized.
Cross-Sectional (n=114)
Yes
Future physical education and exercise science professionals exhibit implicit anti-fat bias, highlighting the need for further research on incidence and prevention strategies.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Implicit anti-fat bias in physical education trainees may warrant curriculum attention; leaves open research on prevalence, impact, and mitigation strategies.
Stigmatization consequent to anti-fat bias (AFB) may affect the services people who are obese receive from health professionals, including physical education and exercise science (PEX) professionals. In this study, we compared AFB levels of American and Mexican PEX students and Mexican athletes. We also investigated if socially desirable (SD) response tendencies threaten the validity of the explicit AFB measure used in this study. Participants (N = 118) completed measures of explicit and implicit AFB. Explicit AFB scores were not different between groups, but there were some subsample differences and interactions on the implicit AFB measure. Most implicit AFB subsample scores were significantly different from 0, indicating the participants were, to some extent, implicitly biased against fat people. The correlations between SD scales and the explicit AFB scales indicated no substantive threat to the validity of those scales. These results indicate AFB may be an issue with future PEX professionals, and thus, further research on incidence levels and prevention strategies is warranted. Also, because explicit and implicit AFB scores were not significantly correlated, researchers should investigate whether implicit bias affects an individual’s explicit bias.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Alameda et al. (2015) conducted a cross-sectional in Anti-fat bias (n=114). American vs Mexican nationality vs. Mexican nationality was evaluated on Explicit anti-fat bias (AFAT total score). Explicit anti-fat bias scores did not differ significantly between American and Mexican physical education students, but significant implicit anti-fat bias was observed across groups.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: