Overweight and obese (“heavyweight”) people devalue themselves because, it has been proposed, they are socially devalued. However, for women, social valuation depends not only on how much weight they carry but also on where on their bodies they carry it. Here, we investigated whether weight-based self-valuation and perceived social valuation similarly depend on body shape. Study 1, using a nationally representative sample from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; N = 1,093 reproductive-aged women), showed that, controlling for body fat, weight labeling (by self and others) and wanting to lose weight depended on body shape. Study 2, in a direct test of predictions using an undergraduate sample of women (N = 215), showed that with increased body fat, women with an abdominal weight distribution reported more self-devaluation (e.g., lower self-esteem) and perceived social devaluation (e.g., higher perceived weight discrimination); women with a gluteofemoral weight distribution, however, were shielded—partially or fully—from these adverse effects of increased body fat.
AndrewsT. M.LukaszewskiA. W.SimmonsZ. L.Bleske-RechekA. (2017). Cue-based estimates of reproductive value explain women's body attractiveness. Evolution and Human Behavior, 38(4), 461–467.
2.
Bosy-WestphalA.JensenB.BraunW.PourhassanM.GallagherD.MüllerM. J. (2017). Quantification of whole-body and segmental skeletal muscle mass using phase-sensitive 8-electrode medical bioelectrical impedance devices. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 71(9), 1061–1067.
3.
Bosy-WestphalA.SchautzB.LaterW.KehayiasJ. J.GallagherD.MüllerM. J. (2013). What makes a BIA equation unique? Validity of eight-electrode multifrequency BIA to estimate body composition in a healthy adult population. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 67(S1), S14–S21.
4.
BrenchleyK. J. M.QuinnD. M. (2016). Weight-based rejection sensitivity: Scale development and implications for well-being. Body image, 16, 79–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.11.005
5.
BrewisA. A.WutichA.Falletta-CowdenA.Rodriguez-SotoI. (2011). Body norms and fat stigma in global perspective. Current Anthropology, 52(2), 269–276. https://doi.org/10.1086/659309
6.
BrownP. J.KonnerM. (1987). An anthropological perspective on obesity. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 499, 29–46.
7.
BurkhauserR. V.CawleyJ. (2008). Beyond BMI: The value of more accurate measures of fatness and obesity in social science research. Journal of Health Economics, 27(2), 519–529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2007.05.005
8.
ButovskayaM.SorokowskaA.KarwowskiM.SabiniewiczA.FedenokJ.DronovaD.NegashevaM.SelivanovaE.SorokowskiP. (2017). Waist-to-hip ratio, body-mass index, age and number of children in seven traditional societies. Scientific Reports, 7, Article 1622.
9.
CashT. F.FlemingE. C.AlindoganJ.SteadmanL.WhiteheadA. (2002). Beyond body image as a trait: The development and validation of the Body Image States Scale. Eating Disorders, 10, 103–113.
CohenJ. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Lawrence Erlbaum.
13.
CooleyC. H. (1902). Human nature and the social order. Scribners.
14.
CrandallC. S. (1994). Prejudice against fat people: Ideology and self-interest. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(5), 882–894. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.66.5.882
15.
CrandallC. S.NiermanA.HeblM. (2009). Anti-fat prejudice. In NelsonT. D. (Ed.), Handbook of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination (pp. 469–488). Psychology Press.
16.
CrandallC. S.SchiffhauerK. L. (1998). Anti-fat prejudice: Beliefs, values, and American culture. Obesity Research, 6(6), 458–460.
17.
FairburnC. G.BeglinS. (1994). Assessment of eating disorder: Interview or self-report questionnaire?International Journal of Eating Disorders, 16(4), 363–370.
18.
FairburnC. G.CooperZ. (1993). The eating disorder examination. In FairburnC. G.WilsonG. T. (Eds.), Binge eating: Nature, assessment and treatment (12th ed., pp. 317–360). Guilford Press.
19.
FaulF.ErdfelderE.BuchnerA.LangA.-G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behavior Research Methods, 41, 1149–1160.
20.
FriedmanM. A.BrownellK. D. (1995). Psychological correlates of obesity: Moving to the next research generation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(1), 3–20. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.1.3
21.
FryarC. D.CarrollM. D.AffulJ. (2020, December). Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and severe obesity among adults aged 20 and over: United States, 1960–1962 through 2017–2018. NCHS Health E-Stats.
22.
GrabeS.HydeJ. S. (2006). Ethnicity and body dissatisfaction among women in the United States: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(4), 622–640. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.4.622
23.
HeymsfieldS. B.WangJ.HeshkaS.KehayiasJ. J.PiersonR. N. (1989). Dual-photon absorptiometry: Comparison of bone mineral and soft tissue mass measurements in vivo with established methods. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 49(6), 1283–1289. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/49.6.1283
24.
HungerJ. M.MajorB. (2016). Weight stigma mediates the association between BMI and self-reported health. Health Psychology, 34(2), 172–175. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000106
25.
JanssenI.KatzmarzykP. T.RossR. (2004). Waist circumference and not body mass index explains obesity-related health risk. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 79(3), 379–384. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/79.3.379
26.
JasienskaG. (2013). The fragile wisdom: An evolutionary view on women’s biology and health. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
27.
KremsJ. A.NeubergS. L. (2022). Updating long-held assumptions about fat stigma: For women, body shape plays a critical role. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 13(1), 70–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550621991381
28.
LassekW. D.GaulinS. J. C. (2006). Changes in body fat distribution in relation to parity in American women: A covert form of maternal depletion. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 131, 295–302.
29.
LassekW. D.GaulinS. J. C. (2008). Waist-to-hip ratio and cognitive ability: Is gluteofemoral fat a privileged store of neurodevelopmental resources?Evolution and Human Behavior, 29, 26–34.
30.
LassekW. D.GaulinS. J. C. (2015). Maternal milk DHA content predicts cognitive performance in a sample of 28 nations. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 11(4), 773–779. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12060
31.
LassekW. D.GaulinS. J. C. (2018a). Do the low WHRs and BMIs judged most attractive indicate better health?Evolutionary Psychology, 16(4), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704918803998
32.
LassekW. D.GaulinS. J. C. (2018b). Do the low WHRs and BMIs judged most attractive indicate higher fertility?Evolutionary Psychology, 16(4), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704918800063
33.
LassekW. D.GaulinS. J. C. (2019). Evidence supporting nubility and reproductive value as the key to human female physical attractiveness. Evolution and Human Behavior, 40(5), 408–419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.05.001
34.
LinkB. G.PhelanJ. C. (2001). Conceptualizing stigma. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 363–385.
35.
MajorB.TomiyamaA. J.HungerJ. M. (2018). The negative and bidirectional effects of weight stigma on health. In MajorB.DovidioJ. F.LinkB. G. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of stigma, discrimination, and health (pp. 499–519). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190243470.013.27
36.
ManolopoulosK. N.KarpeF.FraynK. N. (2010). Gluteofemoral body fat as a determinant of metabolic health. International Journal of Obesity, 34(6), 949–959. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2009.286
37.
MarloweF.ApicellaC.ReedD. (2005). Men’s preferences for women’s profile waist-to-hip ratio in two societies. Evolution and Human Behavior, 26(6), 458–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.07.005
38.
MeadG. H. (1934). Mind, self, and society. University of Chicago Press.
39.
MeadowsA.DaníelsdóttirS. (2016). What’s in a word? On weight stigma and terminology. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, Article 1527. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01527
40.
MillerC. T.DowneyK. T. (1999). A meta-analysis of heavyweight and self-esteem. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3(1), 68–84. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0301_4
41.
PuhlR.BrownellK. D. (2001). Bias, discrimination, and obesity. Obesity Research, 9(12), 788–805.
42.
RavussinE.RyanD. (2015). Response to “The need for people-first language in our Obesity journal..”Obesity, 23(5), 918. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.21100
43.
RobinsR. W.HendinH. M.TrzesniewskiK. H. (2001). Measuring global self-esteem: Construct validation of a single-item measure and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(2), 151–161. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167201272002
44.
RothmanK. J. (2008). BMI-related errors in the measurement of obesity. International Journal of Obesity, 32, S56–S59. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2008.87
45.
RubinoF.PuhlR. M.CummingsD. E.EckelR. H.RyanD. H.MechanickJ. I.NadglowskiJ.Ramos SalasX.SchauerP. R.TwenefourD.ApovianC. M.AronneL. J.BatterhamR. L.BerthoudH.-R.BozaC.BusettoL.DickerD.De GrootM.EisenbergD.. . . DixonJ. B. (2020). Joint international consensus statement for ending stigma of obesity. Nature Medicine, 26(4), 485–497.
ScottK. M.BruffaertsR.SimonG. E.AlonsoJ.AngermeyerM.de GirolamoG.DemyttenaereK.GasquetI.HaroJ. M.KaramE.KesslerR. C.LevinsonD.MoraM. E. M.BrowneM. A. O.OrmelJ.VillaJ. P.UdaH.Von KorffM. (2008). Obesity and mental disorders in the general population: Results from the world mental health surveys. International Journal of Obesity, 32(1), 192–200. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803701
48.
SinghD. (1993). Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: Role of waist-to-hip ratio. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2), 293–307. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.65.2.293
49.
SinghD.LuisS. (1995). Ethnic and gender consensus for the effect of waist-to-hip ratio on judgment of women’s attractiveness. Human Nature, 6(1), 51–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02734135
50.
SugiyamaL. S. (2004). Is beauty in the context-sensitive adaptations of the beholder? Shiwiar use of waist-to-hip ratio in assessments of female mate value. Evolution and Human Behavior, 25(1), 51–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090-5138(03)00083-7
51.
SymonsD. (1979). Evolution of human sexuality. Oxford University Press.
52.
SymonsD. (1995). Beauty is in the adaptations of the beholder: The evolutionary psychology of human female sexual attractiveness. In AbramsonP. R.PinkertonS. D. (Eds.), Sexual nature (pp. 80–118). University of Chicago Press sexual culture.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
