Sub Sahara African Culture

Weight IAT

Abstract

The perception about weight in different cultures varies with the appreciation of skinny body types in western cultures. In contrast, in the Sub-Saharan region, people considered obese in the western culture are perceived as wealthy or successful. This research employed an IAT test to examine the attitudes or beliefs about this weight to determine if they had implicit biases towards individuals with different body types. The null hypothesis is there is no significant implicit stigma towards different body types in ethnic communities compared to contemporary western communities in the Sub-Sahara. A Chi-Square test was conducted to assess if significant implicit stigma towards different body types in ethnic in the Sub-Sahara region communities compared to contemporary western culture. The alternate hypothesis that there is a significant implicit stigma towards different body types in ethnic communities compared to contemporary western communities in the Sub-Sahara region is accepted.

Introduction

An individual’s attitude is determined by their culture and environment and influences their perspectives consciously or unconsciously. The perception about weight in different cultures varies with the appreciation of skinny body types in western cultures. In contrast, in the Sub-Saharan region, people considered obese in Western culture are perceived as wealthy or successful. Consequently, there is an implicit bias towards people who are overweight in the western culture while in the Sub-Saharan region are admired since it is perceived as a sign of wealth (Stanifer et al., 2016). However, the percolation of the western culture internationally has led to the growth of preference of skinny body types more compared to people who are considered overweight in some of the cultures that held a similar belief as in the Sub-Saharan region across the globe (World Health Organization, 2021). Therefore, this research will employ the Implicit Bias Test (IBT) to explore the implicit bias towards people who are overweight or skinny towards people from different societies and the contemporary preference of body types prevalent in their ethnic communities.

Literature Review

Wight bias is defined as “negative attitudes towards, and beliefs about, others because of their weight” (World Health Organization, 2021). The negative attitude manifests in different ways that have physiological and psychological adversaries among the stigmatized individuals, such as developing poor dietary habits or body dyslexia, respectively. Social stigma is a phenomenon where people who display certain undesirable characteristics in a community are perceived distinctively in a “us” and “them” manner. Such bias may be manifested explicitly or implicitly (Beames et al., 2016). Traditionally, in the western culture, women sort thin body types, while men sort muscular and toned body types. These maxims were perceived, in part, as standards of beauty or as indicators of an individual’s state of health.

The increase in information access has led to the access of credible information about what health and a healthy lifestyle are, resulting in the espousal of healthy practices into the lifestyles of individuals across the globe. Access to this information has an aggregate negative impact in communities where skinny body types are preferred results in more stigmatization of individuals who are perceived to be overweight. According to Beames et al. (2016), the levels of stigmatization after the access to information regarding leading a healthy lifestyle result in a difference in the attitudes expressed towards individuals who get obese and lost weight compared to individuals who were never obese did not lose weight. In this study, the researchers speculated that participants had a greater dislike for individuals who had gotten obese and lost than those who had lost weight and were never obese (World Health Organization, 2021). The study examined target individuals who were obese and never obese by playing the participants’ informative videos for a multidimensional evaluation.

The causal effect observed here on the participants’ beliefs is informed by the exposure to the target’s ability to control the onset or offset of obesity. In the researcher’s review of literature, they observe that the exposure to an advertisement about the transformation of “before” and “after” resulted in a greater perception of the target’s ability to control the onset of their weight and negative evaluations (Marini et al., 2021). The perception that an individual can control obesity by efforts made towards losing weight plays a critical role in informing the negative beliefs of individuals and stereotyping the individuals with obesity. Further, the offset effort also plays a role in determining the attitudes and perceptions of people who are obese. Self-efficacy of obese individuals is perceived to lie in making an effort to lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle after that. Beames et al. (2016) draw from Karasawa (1991) findings that students who did not perform well due to the lack of effort to improve their performance had negative performance, unlike students who excreted effort to improve their performance. Further, students who performed poorly occurred when students who performed poorly did not exert effort to improve did not improve despite the possibility of doing so (Puhl & Heuer, 2010). Similarly, people assume that obese people are less committed to living a healthy life to avoid losing weight to remain healthy.

The beliefs that are prevalent in communities where there is a pervasive stigma towards people who are obese about the causes of obesity are genetic factors, poor nutrition choices, physical inactivity, nutritional knowledge, and overeating (Stanifer et al., 2016). The factors that seem to be overlooked and are yet core to the development of obesity are inexpensive unhealthy foods, especially in areas with low social, economic status, pervasive marketing of unhealthy foods, and food addiction (Chrisler & Erchull, 2010). The acquisition knowledge about the ability to act towards losing weight at the onset of an onset-uncontrollable condition in a low-ability, high-effort target is evaluated positively (Mann et al., 2007). The perception of ability and knowledge to control effects of offset and offset effort ability is evaluated positively. However, in both instances, the high-ability and lack of effort in targets are evaluated negatively.

The preference for skinny body types is predicated on the assumption that skinny people are healthy while overweight people are unhealthy, which is not accurate. As established, this approach is biased; Puhl & Heuer (2010) argue that shaming obese people is ineffective and threatens the obese individual’s health, and interferes with effective obesity intervention. Consequently, individuals who are considered overweight or obese are stigmatized and since they are perceived to be lazy, sloppy, lacking in self-discipline and motivation. The negative attitudes have now become prevalent in societies that adopt the contemporary culture propagated in the media.

The perception about weight in different cultures varies with the appreciation of skinny body types in western cultures. In contrast, in the Sub-Saharan region, people considered obese in Western culture are perceived as wealthy or successful. Consequently, there is an implicit bias towards people who are overweight in the western culture while in the Sub-Saharan region are admired since it is perceived as a sign of wealth. While these stereotypes are still prevalent in today’s global society, there has been a change towards more positive attitudes for appreciating all body types (Branscombe, 2017). For example, there have been proactive efforts by governments and international health institutions to educate people about the adverse effects of the consequences of stigmatization of people who are obese, such as the inadequate health care discrimination from the workplace or lack of work opportunities and or in educational settings, and the need to adjust attitudes accordingly.

This research will employ the IAT to examine the attitudes or beliefs about this weight to determine if they have implicit biases towards individuals with different body types (skinny and overweight). Previous studies mainly focus on the health effects of stigmatization of obese people and its consequent effect on obese people, perceptions that inform bias towards obese people, and the impact of knowledge about affected individuals’ ability to prevent or control the condition (Branscombe, 2016). However, this research focuses on the difference between perceptions across cultures, the contemporary culture in western countries compared to the ethnic cultures of ethnic communities in Sub-Sahara (Branscombe, 2016). Therefore, the research will seek to test the following hypothesis and the inferential implications of the findings.

H0: There is no significant implicit stigma towards different body types in ethnic communities compared to contemporary western communities in the Sub-Sahara region

H1: There is a significant implicit stigma towards different body types in ethnic communities compared to contemporary western communities in the Sub-Sahara region.

Research Methodology

A qualitative method had been employed for the study to determine the data collection and analysis methods as discussed herein.

Participants

The participants were selected based on their ethnicity to recruit from the Grand Canyon workforce and students. The participants were sampled from the Sub-Saharan expatriates and students, and Americans who espouse the contemporary culture in the US. The study involved 40 participants (n=40). The groups selected 20 male and female participants, where 10 of the sub-Saharan ethnic participants were male, and ten were female. Despite being foreigners, the ethnic participants were selected based on their expression familiarity with their native cultures and familiarity with the contemporary norms in the American culture.

Materials

The materials required were a recording device, note-taking stationery. A classroom will need to be booked to conduct the AIT tests with the participants. A $100 award will be offered to the participants to encourage them to participate in the interview. Thus, a fund of $2,500 will be set apart. Bottled water will be offered to the participants, 15 bottles will be at room temperature, and 15 bottles refrigerated. A computer and a dedicated email system will be required to facilitate communication with the participants.

Procedure

The study will begin by preparing and submitting the study proposal to the IRB permission for approval and suggestion for improvement. Once approval is granted, the participant’s selection process will begin. The study will be announced on social media and the university mailing system to inform interested participants to send their expression of interest through the mail. After two weeks, an email seeking to establish the participants’ familiarity with their respective culture, ethnicity, and contemporary American culture will be broadcast to the volunteers. The evaluation of the participants to determine the most suitable will be done based on their expression familiarity with their native cultures and familiarity with the contemporary norms in the American culture. After this selection, two suitable rooms will be booked. A week will be selected when there are no demanding activities in the school program and hours when participants are not as busy and communicated for confirmation of the availability of participants. The interview will conduct by employing the AIT interview strategy. The interviews are going to be recorded and transcribed after that.

Results

Table 1: Observation Frequencies

Row Labels

Sum of Sub-Saharan

Sum of American

Sum of Will power

Sum of Income

Total

F

M

Grand Total

Table 2: Expected Frequencies

Row Labels

Sum of Sub-Saharan

Sum of American

Sum of Will power

Sum of Income

Total

F

M

Grand Total

A Chi-Square test had been carried out to assess if significant implicit stigma towards different body types in ethnic in the Sub-Sahara region communities compared to contemporary western communities. The IAT test examined the implicit biases by asking questions created to examine subconscious biases towards different body sizes. The alpha level for the test was 0.05 (?=0.05). The degree of freedom in the test is 1. The p-value of the study is 0.0299. The hypothesis would be accepted if where the p-value is less than 0.05. and rejected where the p-values are rather than 0.05. since the p-value is 0.02997, which is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected.

Discussion

The null hypothesis posits no significant implicit stigma towards different body types in ethnic communities compared to contemporary western communities in the Sub-Sahara region. The results rejected the alternative hypothesis that there is a significant and implicit stigma towards different body types in ethnic communities compared to contemporary western communities in the Sub-Sahara region. However, the implicit bias is towards people who are overweight in the western culture, while in the Sub-Saharan region, they are admired since it is perceived as a sign of wealth. The alternate hypothesis that there is a significant implicit stigma towards different body types in ethnic communities compared to contemporary western communities in the Sub-Sahara region is accepted. Therefore, despite the lack of bias towards what is perceived as overweight bodies in the west, bias is still prevalent toward “skinny” body types.