Weight ratings of others: The effects of multiple target and rater features

The present study investigated factors that affect the subjective analysis of the weight of other individuals. Three hundred and thirty-three participants viewed figures varying in muscularity, adiposity, gender, and race. For each of the eighteen figures (targets), a 2 (rater gender: male, female) × 3 (rater race/ethnicity: Caucasian, African American, Hispanic) × 3 (target race/ethnicity: Caucasian, African American, Hispanic) repeated measures ANCOVA was conducted (BMI was covaried). Overall, there were few significant effects, however, for some of the figural stimuli, African American raters assigned lower weight ratings than did Caucasian and Hispanic raters. The findings offer support for further investigation of ethnic differences in weight ratings as a potential factor that might inform ethnic differences in overweight and obesity prevalence.