Implications of Wearing a Fat Suit

NCT ID: NCT02745405

Last Updated: 2016-04-20

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 109 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2014-04-30
• Study Completion Date: 2014-12-31

Brief Summary

This study examined how wearing a fat suit might lead individuals to experience the negative effects of weight based stigmatization, including psychological, behavioral, and physiological consequences. It also aimed to test using the fat suit as a possible intervention tactic to reduce weight stigma.

Detailed Description

The goal of this study was to understand how embodying a stigmatized domain might elicit the same consequences investigators see in victims of weight stigma. Participants were randomly assigned to either manipulate their weight through wearing a fat suit prosthesis or to a control condition where they wore the same clothing that was on the fat suit but in their own size. Outcome variables were cortisol reactivity, psychological well-being, and food and drink consumption. Additionally, this study tested whether wearing the fat suit might serve as an effective weight stigma reduction effort.

Conditions

Feeding Behaviors

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Fat Suit Condition

Participants are randomly assigned to wear a fat suit and then walk across campus.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Fat Suit

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants wear a fat suit.

Control Condition

Participants are randomly assigned to wear the same clothing that is on the fat suit but in their own size and then walk across campus.

Group Type: OTHER

Control Condition

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants wear same clothing as intervention, but in their own size.

Interventions

Fat Suit

Participants wear a fat suit.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Control Condition

Participants wear same clothing as intervention, but in their own size.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Participants had to be registered in the UCLA Department of Psychology Subject Pool.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

A. Janet Tomiyama

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

A. Janet Tomiyama

Faculty Sponsor

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

A. Janet Tomiyama, Ph.D

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of California, Los Angeles

References

Crandall CS. Prejudice against fat people: ideology and self-interest. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1994 May;66(5):882-94. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.66.5.882.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 8014833 (View on PubMed)

Baker F, Denniston M, Zabora J, Polland A, Dudley WN. A POMS short form for cancer patients: psychometric and structural evaluation. Psychooncology. 2002 Jul-Aug;11(4):273-81. doi: 10.1002/pon.564.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 12203741 (View on PubMed)

Zadro L, Williams KD, Richardson R. How low can you go? Ostracism by a computer is sufficient to lower self-reported levels of belonging, control, self-esteem, and meaningful existence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40(4): 560-567, 2004.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

Incollingo Rodriguez AC, Heldreth CM, Tomiyama AJ. Putting on weight stigma: A randomized study of the effects of wearing a fat suit on eating, well-being, and cortisol. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2016 Sep;24(9):1892-8. doi: 10.1002/oby.21575. Epub 2016 Jul 28.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 27465666 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

13-001873

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id