Attitudes Toward Obese People: A Comparative Study of Nursing, Education, and Social Work Students

Background: Stigmatization and bias toward the obese population has been studied globally in a variety of professional groups, supporting the existence of negative attitudes and weight bias against this population. Attitudes fostering the prevalence of stigmatization undermine the effectiveness and quality of health care. Studies have not compared attitudes and beliefs of graduate and undergraduate students from professional schools within the same university. As an exemplar, this study compared nursing students' attitudes and beliefs toward obese individuals with students' attitudes in other professional schools. Methods: The Attitudes Toward Obese Persons and Beliefs About Obese Persons scales were administered to undergraduate and graduate nursing students and graduate education and social work students at a US northeastern university. Results: Analyses indicated students who were younger; in nursing programs; and reported not having a friend or family member who is overweight had significantly worse attitudes than others. Gender, location of residence, perceptions of own body weight, and participating in an exercise regimen were not significant. Conclusion: Understanding attitudes toward obese people may guide educators as they train nursing, education, and social work students. Reducing negative attitudes, beliefs, and stigmatization is an important starting point in the battle against this growing public health concern.