Objective: To understand social preferences for thinness and the stigmatization of obesity, this study examined attitudes of adolescents towards dating (courtship) of overweight people.
Design: A cross-sectional survey was performed in upper class high school students at a public and private school.
Measurements: A written questionnaire that included questions assessing attitudes about dating overweight individuals, including a Guttman Dating Overweight Partners Scale (DOPS), was completed by 786 students.
Results: Women were more concerned than men about their own body weights, while men emphasized thinness in partners more than did women. The DOPS scale revealed low comfort in engaging, in dating activities with very overweight partners, moreso by men than by women.
Conclusion: Stigmatization of overweight students in dating activities may be an important influence on desires of adolescents to be thin to be attractive.