PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Political correctness could affect holiday weight gain

Fear of offending can result in poor diet choices, says Duke study

2013-11-22
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Erin Medlyn
erin.medlyn@duke.edu
919-660-8090
Duke University
Political correctness could affect holiday weight gain Fear of offending can result in poor diet choices, says Duke study DURHAM, N.C. -- It's that time of year when Americans start focusing on holiday celebrations, many of which will involve high-calorie food. As the festivities proceed, so do countless tips for keeping off extra weight this season.

But, there is one factor most people likely won't consider -- political correctness.

Research from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business suggests you could be choosing unhealthy options to serve your guests because you don't want to offend someone else.

Marketing doctoral student Peggy Liu and Fuqua marketing professor Gavan Fitzsimons led a team that conducted multiple experiments into how people choose between healthy and unhealthy food options when they are picking for both themselves and another person.

"We wanted to understand if food choices would change if they were picking a dish or snack for themselves and an average-sized person versus themselves and an overweight person," Liu said.

Their findings, "Matching Choices to Avoid Offending Stigmatized Group Members," are published in the November 2013 issue of the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

In one of the studies, participants were asked to choose a snack option of either wheat crackers or chocolate chip cookies for themselves and a person they had just met. In some cases, the recently introduced woman appeared as her normal size (wearing a size 0-2). In other situations, the woman was wearing a body suit that appeared to increase her weight by nearly 65 pounds (making her closer to a size 16).

Researchers discovered most participants (almost 60 percent) would choose the same snack for themselves and the woman when she appeared overweight. When the woman appeared her normal size, participants only choose the same snack about 30 percent of the time. When picking for themselves and the overweight women, participants didn't overwhelmingly choose one particular snack over the other (about 30 percent chose cookies and about 30 percent selected wheat crackers).

"What the results show is that people pick the same snack to avoid offending someone they perceive as overweight. This means that people might pick unhealthier options for themselves and others during the holidays if they think not doing so could hurt someone's feelings," Fitzsimons said.

In similar, additional studies, participants told researchers they thought it would be offensive either to give an overweight person healthy food and then take unhealthy food for themselves or, conversely, to give an overweight person unhealthy food and then take healthy food for themselves.

"This suggests that if you are heading back to the buffet to cut a piece of pumpkin pie for your overweight uncle, you might also cut a larger piece than normal for yourself, so you don't hurt his feelings," Liu said.

The research has implications beyond the buffet line.

"As marketers increasingly recognize that the shopper is often not the consumer of products and we often make product choices for others in our lives, firms need to better factor in a consumers' desire to match consumption within the household to avoid offense," Fitzsimons said.

"Counter to common marketing wisdom, a single product that adequately meets the needs of multiple family members without offending any may dominate individual items that perfectly meet the needs of each family member but raise the risk of offense," "Liu said.

Marketing doctoral student Troy Campbell and management professor Grainne Fitzsimons were also part of the research team.

### END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

NASA sees Cyclone Helen making landfall in eastern India

2013-11-22
NASA sees Cyclone Helen making landfall in eastern India NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Cyclone Helen as it was making landfall in eastern India on November 22. The AIRS instrument, or Atmospheric Infrared Sounder that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite, ...

NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Alessia form, threaten western Australia

2013-11-22
NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Alessia form, threaten western Australia The low pressure area previously known as System 90S has continued organizing and consolidating and infrared data from NASA's Aqua satellite helped confirm its strengthening into Cyclone Alessia ...

An inside look at a MOF in action

2013-11-22
An inside look at a MOF in action Berkeley Lab researchers probe into electronic structure of MOF may lead to improved capturing of greenhouse gases A unique inside look at the electronic structure of a highly touted metal-organic framework (MOF) ...

Extra-Tropical Storm Melissa spinning into history

2013-11-22
Extra-Tropical Storm Melissa spinning into history The National Hurricane Center issued their final advisory on Extra-Tropical Storm Melissa as it spins toward to Azores Islands and weakens. The final advisory on Melissa was issued on November 22 at 0300 UTC, ...

Certain measures can help predict older dialysis patients' prognoses

2013-11-22
Certain measures can help predict older dialysis patients' prognoses Patients receiving high intensity care when dialysis is initiated have shorter survival times and eventually need more intensive procedures Adults age 65 years and older represent half of the patients ...

IceCube pushes neutrinos to the forefront of astronomy

2013-11-22
IceCube pushes neutrinos to the forefront of astronomy MADISON, Wis. – The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a particle detector buried in the Antarctic ice, is a demonstration of the power of the human passion for discovery, where scientific ...

2 Y genes can replace the entire Y chromosome for assisted reproduction in mice

2013-11-22
2 Y genes can replace the entire Y chromosome for assisted reproduction in mice The Y chromosome is a symbol of maleness, present only in males and encoding genes important for male reproduction. But live mouse offspring can be generated with assisted reproduction ...

Monster gamma-ray burst in our cosmic neighborhood

2013-11-22
Monster gamma-ray burst in our cosmic neighborhood Gamma-ray bursts are violent bursts of gamma radiation associated with exploding massive stars. For the first time ever, researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute, among others, have observed ...

'The era of neutrino astronomy has begun'

2013-11-22
'The era of neutrino astronomy has begun' In a first, IceCube observatory at the South Pole tracks cosmic neutrinos COLLEGE PARK, MD – Astrophysicists using a telescope embedded in Antarctic ice have succeeded in a quest to detect and record the mysterious phenomena known ...

Study of fluke parasites identifies drug resistance mutations; raises hope for new therapies

2013-11-22
Study of fluke parasites identifies drug resistance mutations; raises hope for new therapies An international group of scientists led by Tim Anderson Ph.D., at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute and Philip LoVerde Ph.D., at the University of Texas ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

[Press-News.org] Political correctness could affect holiday weight gain
Fear of offending can result in poor diet choices, says Duke study