Perceptual exposure influences body size perceptions and anti-fat attitudes.

ABSTRACT: Anti-fat attitudes are pervasive and contribute to deleterious social and health outcomes. The following research investigates perceptual exposure (i.e., visual exposure to larger bodies) as a potential mechanism for reducing anti-fat attitudes across various contexts and methodologies. Perceptual exposure in primary environments (i.e., the body sizes of people encountered in daily life) was examined using aggregated county-level data from the United States. Regions with higher adult obesity rates, indicating greater exposure to larger bodies, were associated with lower explicit but higher implicit anti-fat attitudes. Perceptual exposure in media (i.e., the body sizes of people in advertisements) was assessed using France's ban on extremely thin fashion models. Prior to the ban, explicit a

SUBMITTER: Neuenswander KL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12852812 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature