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Cultural Factors in Desirable Body Shapes and Their Impact on Weight Loss and Maintenance

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Obesity Treatment

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((NSSA,volume 278))

Abstract

“Cultural factors” refers to societal attitudes, beliefs, norms or values common to a particular demographic group or population or to the determinants of these beliefs. In the U.S. literature on obesity and weight control the cultural reference point is typically the mainstream culture, for example, as expressed in the mass media, in fashion magazines, or in the physical attributes of female beauty queens (Wiseman, Gray, Mosimann, & Ahrens, 1992; Rodin, 1991; Bowen, Tomoyasu, & Cauce, 1991). The predominant view is that obesity or large body size is undesirable and negatively stigmatized. The ideal tends to be thin rather than simply non-obese.

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© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Kumanyika, S. (1995). Cultural Factors in Desirable Body Shapes and Their Impact on Weight Loss and Maintenance. In: Allison, D.B., Pi-Sunyer, F.X. (eds) Obesity Treatment. NATO ASI Series, vol 278. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1901-0_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1901-0_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5776-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-1901-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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