Anti-fat bias in secondary school teachers: Are physical education teachers more biased than mathematics teachers?

Abstract

t has been suggested that physical education (PE) teachers hold strong anti-fat attitudes and thatthese can have an impact on the health of their students. In this study, we compare the attitudesand stereotypes towards obesity of PE teachers with those of their colleagues who teachmathematics. In addition, we evaluated the association between the teachers’ anti-fat biases andthe level of physical activity (PA) of their students. The sample consisted of 81 PE teachers and 75mathematics teachers. The adolescent sample consisted of 1792 secondary school students. Theassessment of attitudes and stereotypes was conducted with the Implicit Association Test and theAnti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire. The PA level of the adolescents was determined by a self-administered instrument. PE and mathematics teachers showed similar biases, except for theautomatic obesity–laziness association, which was stronger for PE teachers than for mathematicsteachers. These distinctive implicit stereotypes of PE teachers were also significant predictors ofthe lack of PA in adolescents. We recommend the use of interventions aimed at reducing non-traditional forms of prejudice in teachers.