Take Food Advice From a Fattie? Maybe Not
And yet one more cross for overweight people to bear.
Not only are they often shunned and made fun of but now a new study has found that those who blog may be found less credible for readers seeking food advice.
I guess it stands to reason. Would you take driving advice from someone with DUIs?
The Cornell study revealed that when a blogger is overweight, as shown in the blogger’s photo, readers are far more skeptical of the information that blogger provides when compared with a thin blogger’s recommendations, even when the content is exactly the same, according to newswise.com.
The findings are increasingly important as more than half of smartphone users report that they use their device to look up health-related information, making the Internet one of the top places people get informed about health issues.
"When we dramatically increased the fat and calorie content, it had just as much impact as when we said the food was posted by a heavy person,”says Jonathon Schuldt, assistant professor of communication and lead author of the study. “When we search for health information online, there are a lot of related cues that can bias our perceptions in ways that we may not be consciously aware of,”
Awareness of these biases could help us better navigate health information online, he says. "It could also help us avoid being swayed by nutritional information simply because it is posted by someone who is thin rather than heavy,” he adds.
But the study also suggests that “weight bias and prejudice – which are so rampant in our society – can spill over and affect not only the inferences we make about people, but also objects that are associated with them,” Schuldt says. "People appear to assume that if a heavier person is recommending food, it is probably richer and less healthy."
Can;t say I totally disagree.
Not only are they often shunned and made fun of but now a new study has found that those who blog may be found less credible for readers seeking food advice.
I guess it stands to reason. Would you take driving advice from someone with DUIs?
The Cornell study revealed that when a blogger is overweight, as shown in the blogger’s photo, readers are far more skeptical of the information that blogger provides when compared with a thin blogger’s recommendations, even when the content is exactly the same, according to newswise.com.
The findings are increasingly important as more than half of smartphone users report that they use their device to look up health-related information, making the Internet one of the top places people get informed about health issues.
"When we dramatically increased the fat and calorie content, it had just as much impact as when we said the food was posted by a heavy person,”says Jonathon Schuldt, assistant professor of communication and lead author of the study. “When we search for health information online, there are a lot of related cues that can bias our perceptions in ways that we may not be consciously aware of,”
Awareness of these biases could help us better navigate health information online, he says. "It could also help us avoid being swayed by nutritional information simply because it is posted by someone who is thin rather than heavy,” he adds.
But the study also suggests that “weight bias and prejudice – which are so rampant in our society – can spill over and affect not only the inferences we make about people, but also objects that are associated with them,” Schuldt says. "People appear to assume that if a heavier person is recommending food, it is probably richer and less healthy."
Can;t say I totally disagree.
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