Nutrición Hospitalaria (Aug 2008)
Influencia de los estereotipos en la percepción de la obesidad The influence of stereotypes on obesity perception
Abstract
Antecedentes y objetivos: El prejuicio sesga los procesos de categorización, lo que implica asignar ciertas características más allá de los datos objetivamente disponibles. El estereotipo llena el contenido categorial poniendo lo que falta a lo que escasamente conocemos. De un mero dato físico ("estar gordo o gorda") pasamos a categorizar a la persona obesa sobre la base de nuestras creencias, en una íntima fusión entre estereotipo y categorización. Ámbito, población e intervenciones: Tomamos 138 estudiantes y 47 pacientes, con anorexia o bulimia, que asignaron calificativos sobre la personalidad de las personas obesas utilizando un listado de adjetivos. El mismo listado fue entregado a 49 pacientes obesos, para que los usaran con el fin de definir su personalidad. Resultados: Se analizaron los adjetivos más utilizados y las escalas de personalidad correspondientes, aplicando la prueba de X² para determinar las diferencias entre adjetivos y escalas en las muestras. Se consideró significación estadística un valor de p Background and objectives: The prejudice biases the categorization processes, which implies assigning particular characteristics beyond the objective data available. The stereotype occupies the categorical content by adding what is lacking to what we little know. From a mere physical datum ("he/she is fat") we categorize the obese individual on the basis of our own believes, intimately fusing the stereotype and categorization. Setting, population, and interventions: We included 138 students and 47 patients with anorexia or bulimia that assigned qualifying adjectives of the personality of obese people by using a list of epithets. This same list was provided to 49 obese patients in order to be used to define their own personality. Results: We analyzed the most frequently used epithets and the corresponding scales of personality by applying the X² test to determine the differences between the adjectives and the scales in the samples. We considered a p value < 0.05 as being statistically significant, by using the SPSS v.13 software. Obese people define their personality very differently than the control group and the group of patients does. While obese people more frequently use "positive" adjectives, the other groups tend to use adjectives with more "negative" connotations. It seems that the stereotypes introduce a perception bias regarding the personality characteristics. The fear to overweight-obesity or the fact of "weight gaining" of patients would explain some of the findings of this work. Patients attribute obese people some personality characteristics altogether more negative than those attributed by the people in the control group. Conclusions: Knowing the influence of the stereotypes on obesity perception is essential to approach the patient with no prejudice regarding his/her treatment. The personality characteristics attributed to obese people are far from how these people really perceive themselves.
