Communicating Evidence about the Causes of Obesity and Support for Obesity Policies: Two Population-Based Survey Experiments.

ABSTRACT: Public support for numerous obesity policies is low, which is one barrier to their implementation. One reason for this low support is the tendency to ascribe obesity to failings of willpower as opposed to the environment. Correlational evidence supports this position. However, the experimental evidence is mixed. In two experimental studies, participants were randomised to receive no message, messages about the environment's influence on obesity (Study 1 & 2), or messages about the environment's influence on human behaviour (Study 1). We investigated whether communicating these messages changed support for obesity policies and beliefs about the causes of obesity. Participants were recruited from nationally representative samples in Great Britain (Study 1 & 2) and the USA (Study 2) (total n

SUBMITTER: Reynolds JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7559841 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature