From U Missouri: The Biggest Loser, obesity, and stigma

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22742588

Health Commun. 2012 Jun 28. [Epub ahead of print]

No Clear Winner: Effects of The Biggest Loser on the Stigmatization of Obese Persons.

Yoo JH.

Source

a Department of Communication , University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Abstract

Previous research has largely ignored the question of whether watching reality weight-loss TV shows influences viewers to form a negative obesitystereotype. This study examines antecedents and outcomes of watching The Biggest Loser with the Orientation1-Stimulus-Orientation2-Response (O-S-O-R) model. The study found that individuals who are more concerned with their weight (O(1)) watch more episodes of The Biggest Loser (S). Meanwhile, consumption of The Biggest Loser leads to greater perceived locus of weight control (O(2)), indicating that body weight is under personal control. Perceived locus of weight control, in turn, significantly predicts the attribution of obesity to personal responsibility (R). Ultimately, attributingobesity to personal responsibility leads to the formation of anti-fat attitudes (R). This study offers an integrative theoretical framework to investigate media effects on the formation of an obesity stigma by using the O-S-O-R model. The results imply that certain lifestyle transformation media, such as The Biggest Loser, might reinforce the notion that individuals control their own weight and thus further amplify the obesity stigma.