Well-Being and Prejudice toward Obese People in Women at Risk to Develop Eating Disorders

The literature has found that eating disorders (ED) patients usually have a depression and anxiety diagnosis. However, not many investigations have studied the relationship between ED and well-being. One of the main problems of patients with ED is their body image. These individuals usually see themselves too big but there are not many investigations that focus on how these patients see people with real weight problems. For this reason in this study it is analyzed how women in risk to develop ED see obese people. 456 female students were selected. It was found that women with high scores in the different subscales of the Eating Attitudes Test 26 (EAT-26; dieting, bulimia and oral control) had lower well-being (both subjective and psychological) and worse attitudes toward obese people (measured with Antifat Attitudes Test, AFA, Beliefs About Obese People Scale, BAOP, and Attitudes Toward Obese People Scale, ATOP) compared with women with low scores in the EAT-26.