Weight-control effort can increase obesity stereotyping

•Vignette ratings examine the effects of weight and effort on obesity stereotyping.•For normal-weight people, weight-control effort results in more positive ratings.•For obese people, weight-control effort does not improve ratings.•Obesity stereotypes are resistant to information concerning weight-control effort.

This study investigated how information about weight-control effort influences obesity stereotyping. 763 participants (583 women, 172 men, 8 undeclared) read a brief vignette about a fictional woman who was described as either obese and of unhealthy weight or of normal/healthy weight, and who either did or did not make efforts to control her weight through diet and exercise, and then rated her across a number of personal characteristics. MANOVA revealed that the woman described as obese was rated as more likely to suffer from an illness in the future, more unattractive, weak-willed, lazy, unhappy, emotional, unpopular, unintelligent, unsuccessful, and less likely to find a romantic partner. Weight-control effort improved ratings of the normal-weight woman but made no difference to, or worsened, ratings of the woman described as obese. These results highlight the prevalence and persistence of obesity stereotypes, and are discussed in relation to attributional models of prejudice.