How Binge‐Eating, Behavioral, and Genetic Explanations Impact Perception of a Japanese Man with Obesity

Abstract Obesity stigma remains prevalent leading to damaging effects for those who experience it. This study investigated how information on the cause of obesity affects obesity stigma in a Japanese sample. Seventy‐eight participants assessed an individual with obesity in terms of perceived warmth and competence, motivation to lose weight, and the probability of losing weight. Thereafter, they reevaluated the person after reading about one of the three possible causes of obesity: binge‐eating ( n = 22), behavioral ( n = 34), or biomedical ( n = 22). The introduction of a biomedical cause for obesity reduced the level of stigma compared to a behavioral cause, but introducing a binge‐eating cause elicited the same level of stigma as a behavioral cause. The results emphasize that framing obesity as caused by psychological factors may not have the same impact as obesity caused by genetic factors on the expression of stigma, but it can elicit a more hopeful perception that the target person can lose weight.