ABSTRACT
The last three decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in most countries. For example, since 1980 obesity rates have doubled in the United States (Ogden, Carroll, McDowell, Tabak, & Flegal, 2006) and nearly tripled in Great Britain (Rennie & Jebb, 2005). At the same time, obesity rates have also been increasing in many developing countries, motivating the World Health Organization to speak of a global epidemic (WHO, 2000). This is a matter of grave concern, not only because individuals who are overweight or obese are the target of prejudice and discrimination (e.g., Brownell, Puhl, Schwartz, & Rudd, 2005), but also because obesity is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality (McGee, 2005; Stroebe, 2008).
