Stereotype Threat and the Exercise/ Dietary Health Intentions of Overweight Women

Abstract

Overweight individuals face significant prejudice and discrimination in daily life yet it is not well understood how factors associated with prejudice and discrimination (i.e. negative social stereotypes) impact overweight individuals' exercise/dietary health intentions. It is proposed that the Model of Stereotype Threat may serve as a useful theoretical tool for interpreting the situational impact of negative stereotypes on the health intentions of overweight individuals. Analyses with a community sample of 100 clinically overweight women showed that priming overweight women to think about weight-related stereotypes led to significantly diminished exercise and dietary health intentions.