Work Ethic Depresses Overweight Women - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Nov, 1999

The American emphasis on hard work and self-reliance may have made this country what it is today, but, according to researchers, the Protestant work ethic also makes overweight women feel bad about themselves. A study by psychologists Diane M. Quinn and Jennifer Crocker, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, found that overweight women who endorse the values of hard work, self-discipline, and personal responsibility are more anxious and depressed than overweight women who don't. They also have lower self-esteem.

Moreover, being exposed to debates or speeches about welfare vs. workfare, or similar themes, has the power to make overweight women feel bad about themselves. "We found that having a conservative ideology, or just being exposed to that viewpoint, has a negative effect on the self-esteem and mood of women who believe they're overweight," Quinn indicates. "We don't know how long-lasting those effects are. They could be momentary; they could last all day; or they could be cumulative."

According to Quinn and Crocker, the study findings suggest that women should evaluate their own beliefs about how much being overweight is their own fault. "Women need to become more aware of the biological and psychological processes that influence weight, and of how little weight has to do with moral character."

Earlier studies have shown that people who believe in the Protestant work ethic tend to judge others more harshly--whether the others are welfare recipients or overweight people. That effect might be stronger on the overweight than on other stigmatized groups, Quinn argues. "The overweight tend to lack cohesion and a sense of group pride."