Does Terminology Matter When Measuring Stigmatizing Attitudes About Weight? Validation of a Modified Attitudes Toward Obese Persons Scale

Abstract

Commonly used medical terms like “obesity” and “overweight” have been identified as stigmatizing. Thus, this study sought to revise a commonly used measure of weight stigmatizing attitudes, the Attitudes Toward Obese Persons (ATOP) scale. We compared the original terminology in the ATOP (e.g., “obese”)to a modified version using neutral terms (e.g., “higher weight”). We randomized participants (N = 599) to either receive the original or modified ATOP and compared their scores. There was no significant difference between the scores of participants who received the original ATOP and the modified ATOP, t(597) = -2.46, p = .550. Through principal component analysis, we found the modified ATOP is best used as a 13-item unidimensional measure. Findings suggest a modified version of the ATOP with neutral language is suitable for assessing negative attitudes about higher-weight people without sacrificing psychometric properties. Further examination of the terminology used in weight stigma measures is needed to determine how to best assess weight stigma without reinforcing stigmatizing attitudes. The findings of the present study suggest that the use of neutral terms in measures of anti-fat bias is a promising solution that warrants further investigation.