Overweight? Chances are people think you’re ‘lazy, socially awkward and unclean’

We’re all guilty of making quick judgements about people, with fat people frequently facing bullying, hostility and discrimination because of their weight.

Now, researchers have confirmed thin people are viewed more favourably than their fatter peers, except when it comes to honesty.

Overweight people were perceived to be just as kind, independent, intelligent, likeable and friendly as their skinny friends, perhaps going some way to explaining the ‘bubbly personality’ stereotype.

Researchers have confirmed thin people are viewed more favourably than their fatter peers (stock image shown), except when it comes to honesty. In tests, ‘overweight’ people were perceived to be lazy, less happy, less emotionally stable, having lower self-esteem, more socially awkward, less clean and less disciplined

Researchers from Bowling Green State University and East Carolina University set out to probe popular perceptions of people’s weight linked to their personality as well as the ‘attractiveness halo effect’.

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This suggests people with attractive faces are viewed as possessing positive traits and qualities, such as being compassionate, intelligent and kind.

The team recruited 296 students with a mean self-reported BMI of 24.7, considered to be within the average range.

‘Thin models [stock image] were viewed more favourably with the exception of five personality traits’ including intelligence, the study said

The participants were assigned one of four surveys showing ether thin and attractive, thin and unattractive, overweight and attractive, and overweight and unattractive models.

They viewed five pictures of five different female models representing their assigned type – for example, thin and attractive.

After viewing each picture, participants answered a series of questions regarding their perception of the women on a variety of personality traits.

Demographic information was collected as well as ratings of each of the five models’ attractiveness.

Thin and more facially attractive models were viewed as more attractive than overweight and less facially attractive models in the study, published in the journal Obesity Research and Clinical Practice.

‘Thin models were viewed more favourably with the exception of five personality traits (friendly, kind, independent, intelligent and likeable) that showed no effect and one personality trait (honest) in which the overweight models were viewed more favourably,’ they wrote.

Models in the ‘overweight’ category were rated negatively on nine out of 15 traits, so they were perceived to be lazy, less happy, less emotionally stable, having lower self-esteem, more socially awkward, less clean, less disciplined, less healthy, and less successful.

The researchers observed correlations between body attractiveness and personality traits in fat people were higher than for thin people.

The more facially attractive models were rated more favourably on all 15 personality traits than the uglier models.

The researchers observed correlations between body attractiveness and personality traits in fat people were higher than for thin people. The more facially attractive models were rated more favourably on all 15 personality traits (illustrated) than the uglier models. This graph shows how the traits compared to weight

The less facially attractive models were viewed as lazier, less friendly, more dishonest, more cruel, less happy, more needy, less intelligent, less emotion-ally stable, having lower self-esteem, less likable, more socially awkward, less clean, less disciplined, less healthy, and less successful than more facially attractive models.

‘The results of this study suggest that body and facial attractiveness additively influence individuals’ ratings of numerous personality traits,’ the reserachers wrote, which suggests the ‘attractive halo effect’ is true.

The findings suggest facial attractiveness may subtly influence ratings of body attractiveness, while body size had little influence on ratings of facial attractiveness.

Evolutionary scientists have previously said people likely view attractive people favourably because beauty is an indicator of genetic fitness, physical health and that the person may be a good partner.

Because of this, it’s possible ‘overweight and less attractive individuals may be viewed as risky mates or allies because facial asymmetry and obesity serve as indicators of poor genetic fitness,’ the study says.

THE WORLD’S EXPANDING WAISTLINE 

The true scale of the world’s obesity crisis is has been laid bare in a report released in March with figures revealing more than one in ten men and one in seven women around the globe are now obese.

And the situation is only set to get worse, with experts predicting almost a fifth of us will fall into this category within a decade.

The alarming statistics are part of the world’s biggest obesity study, which measured the height and weight of nearly 20 million adults.

It reveals there are currently 640 million obese people around the globe, comprising 266 million men and 375 million women.

There are currently 640 million obese people around the globe, comprising 266 million men and 375 million women. Overall, the fattest men and women now live in China and the USA. Map above reveals how MEN in different areas are affected, with green being the lowest

Overall, the fattest men and women now live in China and the USA.

However the USA still has the highest number of severely obese men and women in the world.

In Britain, obesity rates are 28.4 per cent for women – the second highest in Europe behind only Malta – and 26.2 per cent for men, the worst in the continent.

And in a decade, it will be the fattest nation in Europe, with almost 40 per cent of adults obese.

The research, led by scientists from Imperial College London and involving the World Health Organization, also found the world’s population has become heavier by around 1.5kg (3.3lbs) in each subsequent decade since 1975.

Published in The Lancet, it found the global rate of adult obesity has more than tripled in men, to 11 per cent, and more than doubled in women, to 15 per cent, in the last four decades.

The trend is more pronounced in many western countries, with a fifth of the world’s adults living in just six wealthy English-speaking nations – UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.