• İzzet Fidancı, Hilal Aksoy, Duygu Yengil Taci, Duygu Ayhan Başer, and Mustafa Cankurtaran.
• Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
• Int. J. Clin. Pract. 2021 Aug 1; 75 (8): e14297.

AimThe aim of the study was to investigate and evaluate factors affecting levels of negative bias or attitude towards obesity, known as "fat phobia."MethodsThe study included 583 individuals who agreed to participate in this research among those presented at our outpatient clinics for any reason. Participants were asked to complete a survey after their written consent was received. The survey consisted of two parts: the first related to socio-demographic information; the second including a "Fat Phobia Scale," the "State-Trait Anxiety Inventory" and the "Beck Depression Inventory." Data analysed using SPSS 20 statistical software.ResultsOf the participants, 50.6% were male, and 49.4% were female. Among participants, 49.7% had a weight problem in their family, while 50.6% had experienced weight problems. In addition, 35.7% of participants were overweight, 27.4% severely overweight, 20.1% medium-to-normal weight, 7% severely underweight, 6.7% underweight and 3.1% obese. The median score for fat phobia level did not differ by gender (P = .790) and was 3.07 in both men and women. The fat phobia level did not vary by profession, previous diets, previous weight problems and weight self-assessment (P > .05). There was no significant relationship between fat phobia and age, weight, height, body mass index, state anxiety, trait anxiety and Beck depression score (P > .05).ConclusionThe common opinion across studies on bias is that the effective factor in being free from the relevant bias can be achieved through education. Although fat phobia is a new concept, it is an emotion that is always with us at varying levels. In order to minimise the level of fat phobia as much as possible, to draw attention to this situation and to raise awareness, weight management should be ensured for the health of individuals in addition to psychological sessions.© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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