602266

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HEBXXX10.1177/1090198115602266Health Education & BehaviorParent and Alquist

Article

Health Education & Behavior

Born Fat: The Relations Between 2016, Vol. 43(3) 337­–346

© 2015 Society for Public
Health Education
Weight Changeability Beliefs and Health Reprints and permissions:
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Behaviors and Physical Health DOI: 10.1177/1090198115602266

heb.sagepub.com

Mike C. Parent, PhD1, and Jessica L. Alquist, PhD1

Abstract
Although some popular press and nonscholarly sources have claimed that weight is largely unchangeable, the relationship
between this belief and objective measures of health remains unclear. We tested the hypothesis that people who believe
weight is unchangeable will have poorer objective and subjective health, and fewer exercise behaviors and poorer eating
habits, than people who believe weight is changeable. Participants were 4,166 men and 4,655 women enrolled in the National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the 2007 to 2010 iterations. Believing that weight was uncontrollable was
negatively related to exercise and healthful dietary practices and positively related to unhealthful eating. Lack of exercise
and unhealthful eating were, in turn, associated with poor physical health. Age, but not gender, moderated the relationships
between belief in weight changeability and exercise behaviors, healthful eating, and unhealthful eating. This study suggests that
believing weight is unchangeable is associated with poor health behaviors and poorer physical health.

Keywords
body weight, eating, exercise, health behavior

Rising rates of obesity are one of the most important public
health concerns in the United States (Flegal, Carroll, Kit, &
Ogden, 2012; Panzer, 2006; Throp, Owen, Neuhaus, &
Dunstan, 2011; Y. C. Wang, McPherson, Marsh, Gortmaker,
& Brown, 2011; White House Task Force on Childhood
Obesity Report to the President, 2010) and abroad (Karnik &
Kanekar, 2012; Y. C. Wang et al., 2011; Withrow & Alter,
2011). Obesity and obesity-predictive behaviors, such as
sedentary lifestyles and poor dietary decisions, are associ-
ated with health conditions including type 2 diabetes, cardio-
vascular disease, some types of cancer, back pain, depression,
body image disturbance, and sleep disorders (Akinnusi,
Saliba, Porhomayon, & El-Solh, 2012; Boutelle, Hannan,
Fulkerson, Crow, & Stice, 2010; Coates, Slattery, Potter,
Quesenberry, & Edwards, 1998; Schwartz & Brownell,
2004; Shiri, Karppinen, Leino-Arjas, Solovieva, & Viikari-
Juntura, 2010; Y. C. Wang et al., 2011). Whether a person
engages in health-promoting behaviors and maintains physi-
cal health can be affected by a variety of factors, including
their beliefs about weight (Burnette, 2010; Clark, Abrams,
Niaura, Eaton, & Rossi, 1991; Kitsantas, 2000; Linde,
Rothman, Baldwin, & Jeffry, 2006; Saltzer, 1982). Some
writers in the field of obesity and health work have advo-
cated that body weight is overwhelmingly determined by
genetic influence and that individuals have little to no control
over their weight; this position is especially prominent within
the “Healthy at Every Size” movement (Bacon, 2008; Bacon
& Aphamor, 2011; O’Hara & Gregg, 2010; Rothblum, 2014).
However, belief that weight is not controllable may be asso-
ciated with decreases in healthful behaviors and increases in
unhealthful behaviors. The present study tested the hypothe-
sis that believing that weight is changeable will be associated
with better physical health and that this relationship will be
mediated by more healthful dietary practices, fewer unhealth-
ful dietary practices, and more exercise behaviors.
Because of the rise in popular books and online forums
(Dean, 2013) claiming that weight is primarily genetic, that
individuals can do little to influence weight, and that dieting
and exercise are ineffective for controlling weight, some
individuals may be skeptical about recommendations to
engage in behaviors that would facilitate weight loss. It is
possible that such beliefs may be negatively related to health
behaviors (such as healthful dietary practices and exercise
behaviors); if an individual believes weight to be outside of
the influence of diet and exercise, she or he may engage in
more behaviors that are rewarding in the short term (e.g.,
1
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
Corresponding Author:
Mike C. Parent, PhD, Texas Tech University, MS 2051, Lubbock, TX
79409, USA.
Email: michael.parent@ttu.edu
338 Health Education & Behavior 43(3)
eating unhealthful foods, avoiding exercise) rather than
healthful behaviors with more long-term benefits for weight
management. Although health care providers’ advice to lose
weight positively influences patient health behaviors and
facilitate weight loss (Rose, Poynter, Anderson, Noar, &
Conigliaro, 2013), patients’ beliefs in the unchangability of
weight may act to decrease the influence of expert advice or
evidence contrary to their beliefs (Davies, 1997), akin to
self-efficacy beliefs within the health belief model
(Rosenstock, Strecher, & Becker, 1988; Strecher, DeVellis,
Becker, & Rosenstock, 1986).
Implicit Theories
Previous research has shown that whether people believe a
particular attribute is changeable has extensive implications
for goal pursuit in that domain. Belief in the changeability of
a particular attribute is referred to as an implicit theory that is
either incremental (the attribute is changeable) or entity (the
attribute is unchangeable; for a review, see Dweck, Chiu, &
Hong, 1995). People who believe they can increase their
intelligence (incremental theorists) are more likely to attri-
bute failure to lack of effort, are more likely to continue to try
to improve after failure, and ultimately improve more over
time compared with people who believe intelligence is fixed
(entity theorists; Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007;
Hong, Chiu, Dweck, Lin, & Wan, 1999).
Research on implicit theories of physical ability has shown
that people who believe physical ability is malleable have
lower anxiety, have higher self-efficacy, and engage in less
self-handicapping when completing physical activities than
people who believe physical ability is fixed (Ommundsen,
2001a, 2001b; C. K. J. Wang, Chatzisarantis, Spray, & Biddle,
2002). This provides evidence that incremental theories can
have positive effects for physical abilities.
Although having an incremental theory (whether measured
or manipulated) is often related to high self-efficacy (Komarraju
& Nadler, 2013; Martocchio, 1994; Taberno & Wood, 1999),
implicit theories are distinct from self-efficacy and behavioral
control. Implicit theories reflect participants’ beliefs about the
malleability of a particular outcome (intelligence, weight),
whereas self-efficacy and behavioral control reflect partici-
pants’ beliefs about their ability to enact particular behaviors
(Ajzen & Madden, 1986; Bandura, 1977). Individuals could
believe that they could change their eating habits if they wanted,
but believe that weight is unchangeable.
Implicit Theories of Weight and Health Behaviors
Because implicit theories affect goal-directed behavior, beliefs
about the changeability of weight likely play a role in whether
people engage in healthful behaviors. Controlling weight is
one reason that people engage in physical activity and avoid
unhealthful foods (Fotopoulos, Krystallis, Vassallo, &
Pagiaslis, 2009; Glanz, Basil, Maibach, Goldberg, & Snyder,
1998; Pollard, Steptoe, & Wardle, 1998). Most relevant to the
present study, a recent article identified implicit theories of
weight as a significant predictor of weight loss intentions and
behavior (Burnette, 2010). Participants who were randomly
assigned to read an article claiming that weight was unchange-
able reported less intention to exercise than participants who
read an article claiming that weight was changeable.
Furthermore, in a study of participants who expressed interest
in losing weight, having an entity theory of body weight (as
measured by items such as “You have a certain body weight,
and you can’t really do much to change it”) was associated
with lower expectations of weight loss success, more avoidant
coping when faced with setbacks in their weight loss, and, ulti-
mately, less weight loss, even when controlling for nutrition
self-efficacy and exercise self-efficacy. This study provided
evidence that believing weight is unchangeable was associated
with decreased intentions to engage in healthy behaviors,
lower beliefs in one’s ability to maintain diet and exercise rou-
tines, and ultimately decreased success in weight loss plans.
This research laid important groundwork on implicit theories
of weight and health behaviors.
The Present Study
The present study was designed to build on previous research
on implicit theories of weight by using objectively measured
weight, measuring additional health variables, and testing for
moderation by age and gender. Because previous research on
implicit theories of weight relied entirely on self-reported
weight, it remains possible that participants who believed
weight was changeable felt greater pressure to report weight
loss (regardless of actual weight loss) than participants who
believed weight was out of their control. Because self-reported
weight is sometimes inaccurate (Gorber, Tremblay, Moher, &
Gorber, 2007) and participants may be motivated to provide
information that confirms their beliefs, we sought to test the
relationship between beliefs about weight changeability and
investigator-measured body mass index (BMI). We further
extended previous research by including other health mea-
sures in addition to BMI (fasting blood glucose and subjective
ratings of health). In addition, we sought to extend previous
findings on the relationship between weight changeability
beliefs and health by testing gender and age as moderators in a
large, nationally representative sample. Some research has
suggested that these two factors may affect weight-related
behaviors; for example, women are more likely than men to
report weight control as a motivation for exercise (Furnham,
Badmin, & Sneade, 2002; Kilpatrick, Hebert, & Bartholomew,
2005; K. McDonald & Thompson, 1992), and weight as a
motivation for exercise has been found to decrease with age
(Davis, Fox, Brewer, & Ratusny, 1995; Tiggemann, 2004).
The present research sought to test whether gender and age
moderate the relationship between weight implicit theories
and health or if the relationships between weight implicit theo-
ries and health are consistent across various genders and ages.
Parent and Alquist 339

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that believ- Table 1.  Demographic Data (N = 8,821).
ing weight is changeable will be related to better health (as
Characteristic Data
indicated by BMI, fasting glucose levels, and subjective rat-
ings of health) in a large nationally representative sample. Categorical variables  
Furthermore, we predicted that the relationship between  Sex  
fixed weight beliefs and physical health would be mediated   Male 47.47%
by healthful dietary practices, unhealthful dietary practices,   Female 52.53%
and exercise behaviors. We also assessed for moderation of  Race/ethnicity  
this relationship by gender and age.   White 70.14%
  Non-Hispanic Black 11.43%
  Mexican American 8.19%
Method   Other—Hispanic 4.77%
  Other 5.46%
Participants   Physical activity  
Participants were 4,166 men and 4,655 women enrolled in the   Moderate (yes) 46.05%
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey   Vigorous (yes) 25.47%
  Walk/bike (yes) 24.49%
(NHANES) in the 2007-2008 and 2009-2010 iterations (dif-
  Blood glucose  
ferent participants were enrolled in the separate iterations and
  Low 0.29%
thus the data are cross-sectional and not longitudinal).
  Normal 51.82%
NHANES is an annual national study of health in the United
  Prediabetes 39.35%
States, and the data are publically available for researchers   Diabetes-indicating 8.54%
(Centers for Disease Control, 2007, 2009). For each location Continuous variablesa  
sampled, local government members were notified about the  Age 46.78 (17.05)
upcoming data collections and residents of the area were sent   Beliefs about weight 3.64 (1.73)
letters notifying them about the study. Potential participants   Healthful eating  
were then interviewed briefly at their homes to determine eli-   Nutrition facts 2.80 (1.46)
gibility. Participation was facilitated by transportation assis-   Fruit 1.48 (1.46)
tance to the testing center, financial compensation, and a   DG veg 1.76 (1.71)
personalized report of medical findings from individual tests.   Unhealthful eating  
The unweighted response rates were 78.4% (interview) and   Meals out 3.80 (6.23)
75.4% (examination) for 2007-2008 and 79.4% (interview)   R2E meals 1.75 (5.50)
and 77.3% (examination) for 2009-2010. The current analy-   Frozen 2.77 (10.74)
ses were conducted using participants aged 18 to 79 years.  BMI 28.77 (10.38)
Pregnant participants were excluded from the analysis.   Days health was bad 0.89 (3.11)
Demographic data for the sample are presented in Table 1.   General health condition 2.61 (1.98)

Note. DG veg = dark green vegetables; R2E meals = ready-to-eat meals;

Procedures
Participants completed informed consent procedures admin-
istered by the NHANES research team. Computer-assisted
interviews were conducted in participant homes. Participants
were asked each question by an interviewer, and their
responses were immediately logged on a computer. After the
interview was complete, participants were asked to schedule
an appointment to visit the mobile testing center where health
measurements (e.g., height and weight measurement, blood
draws) were completed.
Instruments
Demographic Moderators.  Gender was assessed via a single,
forced choice item between “male” and “female.” Age was
assessed with a forced response for age, though individuals
80 years and older were coded as 80 in the NHANES data
set. Because participants coded as 80 for age may be
BMI = body mass index.
a
Data for continuous variables are presented as mean (standard
deviation).
significantly older than 80, only data from participants up to
age 79 were used in the present study.
Beliefs About Weight. Participants were asked to indicate
their agreement with the statement, “Some people are born
to be fat and some thin; there is not much you can do to
change this” on a scale of 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly
disagree). In the present study, the coding of this item was
reversed such that higher scores indicated greater agree-
ment with the item (i.e., higher scores indicated greater
entity beliefs).
Physical Activity.  Participants were asked to indicate (with a
“yes” or “no”) whether they (1) engage in vigorous intensity
recreational activities (defined in the survey as “any
340 Health Education & Behavior 43(3)
vigorous-intensity sports, fitness, or recreational activities
that cause large increases in breathing or heart rate like run-
ning or basketball for at least 10 minutes continuously”); (2)
engage in moderate-intensity recreational activities (defined
in the survey as “any moderate-intensity sports, fitness, or
recreational activities that cause a small increase in breathing
or heart rate such as brisk walking, bicycling, swimming, or
golf for at least 10 minutes continuously”); and (2) walk or
bicycle for at least 10 minutes each day. Higher values indi-
cate greater physical activity.
Healthful Eating. Participants were asked to indicate, on a
scale of 1 (always) to 5 (never), how often they (1) use the
nutrition facts panel on food, (2) have fruits available at
home, and (3) have dark green vegetables available at home.
For the present study, values were recoded so that higher val-
ues indicated greater healthful eating.
Unhealthful Eating.  Participants were asked to indicate how
many “ready to eat foods” (e.g., deli foods) they ate in the
past 30 days, how often they ate frozen meals or frozen piz-
zas in the past 30 days (ready-to-eat and frozen food con-
sumption were banded into units of 10s to improve normality
of the variables), and how many meals they ate away from
home (e.g., at restaurants, fast food places, or food stands) in
the past 7 days. Higher scores indicate greater unhealthful
eating.
Poor Health.  BMI was calculated based on height and weight
as measured by a health technician. Height was measured
with a digital stadiometer; participants were asked to remove
their shoes. In the event that they refused to remove their
shoes a correction was applied after measuring the height of
the shoe heel. Weight was measured by a health technician in
pounds using a digital scale; participants in the mobile exam-
ination center wore a disposable shirt, pants, and slippers;
participants who refused to remove their shoes were coded as
missing; participants with limb amputations were coded as
missing. To measure fasting blood glucose (grouped into ≤69
mg/dL, 70-99 mg/dL, 100-126 mg/dL, and 126 mg/dL and
over; corresponding to recommendations for low, normal,
prediabetes, and diabetes-indicating levels; American Diabe-
tes Association, 2011), a health technician collected blood
from participants after a 9-hour fast. Subjective health was
measured using two questions: the number of days their
health was not good with regard to physical illness or injuries
in the past 30 days (banded into units of 5 days to improve
normality of the variable) and their general health on a scale
of 1 (excellent) to 5 (poor). Higher scores on this variable
indicate poorer health.
Analysis
Analyses were conducted in Mplus, Version 6 (Muthén &
Muthén, 2010) using full information maximum likelihood
estimation to account for missing data under normal method-
ology for using NHANES data (Centers for Disease Control,
2013). The model was run using COMPLEX model type,
required for large survey data with weights, strata, and clus-
ters. Sampling weights, strata, and clusters from the NHANES
data set were included in analyses as per requirements of
using large national data sets in general, and NHANES data
in particular. Sample sizes required for structural equation
modeling are generally accepted to be at least 200 partici-
pants (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007) and thus the present sam-
ple exceeded minimum sample size requirements.
Results
Consistent with recommendations for conducting structural
equation modeling (R. P. McDonald & Ho, 2002; Weston &
Gore, 2006), we first tested a measurement model by con-
straining indicators to load onto intended latent variables,
and freeing all covariances among latent variables and the
born fat/thin item. This model was an acceptable fit to the
data, χ2(68) = 411.07, p < .001, comparative fit index [CFI] =
.95, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] =
.02. Indicators loaded into their intended latent constructs at
p < .01, and covariances among latent constructs and the
born fat/thin item were significant at p < .05.
Because the measurement model was an acceptable fit to
the data, we tested the structural model (see Figure 1). This
model was a good fit to the data, χ2(69) = 441.23, p < .001, CFI =
.98, RMSEA = .03. Standardized path coefficients are pre-
sented in Figure 1, and unstandardized path coefficients, stan-
dard errors, and standardized path coefficients are presented in
Table 2. The model R2 for the latent health variable was 0.85.
We investigated the hypothesized moderators of the rela-
tionship between the born fat/thin variable and the media-
tors. First, we assessed for a moderating influence of gender
(Figure 2). An unconstrained model with gender as the
grouping variable indicated acceptable fit to the data,
χ2(153) = 1016.42, p < .001, CFI = .96, RMSEA = .04. The
constrained model (with the three paths from the born fat/
thin variable to the three mediators constrained to equality
between groups) was also a good fit to the data, χ2(156) =
1015.21, p < .001, CFI = .96, RMSEA = .04; the models did
not differ, χ2(3) = 1.21, ns, indicating that there were no gen-
der differences among those three paths. Unstandardized
path coefficients, standard errors, and standardized path
coefficients for the two groups are presented in Table 2.
Next, we tested for a moderating influence of age (Figure 3).
Because age was a continuous variable, an interaction term
approach was used. This model was an acceptable fit to the
data, χ2(89) = 672.31, p < .001, CFI = .93, RMSEA = .03.
Age significantly predicted exercise (B = −0.03, SE = 0.00,
β = −0.61, p < .001), healthful eating (B = 0.00, SE = 0.00,
β = −0.17, p < .001), and unhealthful eating (B = −0.04,
SE = 0.00, β = −0.39, p < .001). Age was associated nega-
tively with exercise behaviors, unhealthful eating, and
Parent and Alquist 341

Vig. rec. Mod. rec. Walk/bike

.64** .43** .18**

Exercise
-.99**
-.17** -.31**

Meals out R2E meals Glucose

.27**
.49** .17** .07**

Unhealthful Poor .48**

Born fat/thin BMI
.05** Eang .29** Health
.36**
.36**

Frozen .42** Days

-.07**

-.14** .65**
Healthful Gen. health
Eang

.32** .60** .67**

Nut. facts Fruit DG veg.

Figure 1.  Structural equation model.

Note. Vig. rec. = vigorous recreational activity; Mod. rec. = moderate recreational activity; Walk/bike = walking or biking for at least 10 minutes each day;
Meals out = meals eaten away from home; R2E meals = ready-to-eat meals; Frozen = frozen meals/pizza; Nut. Facts. = use of nutritional panels on food;
Fruit = availability of fruit at home; DG veg. = availability of dark green vegetables at home; Days = subjective health (days health was not good); Gen.
health = subjective health (general rating of health).

Table 2.  Unstandardized, Standardized, and Significance Levels for Models.

Parameter estimate B (SE) β p

Baseline model  
  Born fat/thin → Unhealthful eating 0.07 (0.004) 0.05 <.001
  Born fat/thin → Healthful eating −0.02 (0.001) −0.07 <.001
  Born fat/thin → Exercise −0.08 (0.002) −0.17 <.001
  Unhealthful eating → Poor health 0.03 (0.001) 0.29 <.001
  Healthful eating → Poor health −0.07 (0.011) −0.14 <.001
 Exercise → Poor health −0.27 (0.003) −0.99 <.001
Moderated paths—Gender  
  Born fat/thin → Unhealthful eatingmen 0.08 (0.006) 0.06 <.001
  Born fat/thin → Healthful eatingMEN −0.01 (0.002) −0.04 <.001
  Born fat/thin → ExerciseMEN −0.07 (0.002) −0.14 <.001
  Born fat/thin → Unhealthful eatingwomen 0.08 (0.006) 0.04 <.001
  Born fat/thin → Healthful eatingWOMEN −0.01 (0.001) −0.04 <.001
  Born fat/thin → ExerciseWOMEN −0.07 (0.002) −0.24 <.001
Moderated paths—Age  
  Born fat/thin → Unhealthful eating 0.17 (0.062) 0.12 <.01
  Born fat/thin → Healthful eating −0.00 (0.001) −0.01 ns
  Born fat/thin → Exercise −0.03 (0.014) −0.05 <.05
 Age → Unhealthful eating −0.04 (0.000) −0.39 <.001
 Age → Healthful eating 0.00 (0.000) 0.17 <.001
 Age → Exercise −0.03 (0.001) −0.61 <.001
  Born fat/thin × Age → Unhealthful eating 0.00 (0.001) −0.06 <.05
  Born fat/thin × Age → Healthful eating 0.00 (0.000) 0.08 <.001
  Born fat/thin × Age → Exercise 0.00 (0.000) 0.14 <.01
342 Health Education & Behavior 43(3)

Gender

Exercise

Unhealthful Poor
Born fat/thin
Eang Health

Healthful
Eang

Figure 2.  Moderation by gender.

Born fat/thin
X
Age

Exercise

Age

Unhealthful Poor
Born fat/thin
Eang Health

Healthful
Eang

Figure 3.  Moderation by age.

healthful eating. There was also a significant interaction
between belief and age on exercise (B = 0.00, SE = 0.00, β =
0.14, p < .01), between belief and age on healthful eating
(B = 0.00, SE = 0.00, β = −0.08 p < .001), and between belief
and age on unhealthful eating (B = 0.00, SE = 0.00, β =
−0.06, p < .05). Among younger participants, exercise behav-
iors remained stable (and high) across implicit theories;
among older participants, exercise behaviors declined among
those who had entity, rather than incremental, implicit theo-
ries of weight. Among both younger and older participants,
unhealthful eating increased slightly with entity beliefs
though this association was weaker for older adults. Among
younger participants, healthful eating was not associated
with incremental beliefs while among older participants,
healthful eating was negatively associated with entity beliefs.
Simple slopes of these relationships are presented in Figure 4
Parent and Alquist 343

Exercise, unhealthful eating, and healthful eating were, in turn,

2 associated with physical health. Furthermore, we found evi-
Younger dence that the relationship between changeability beliefs about
1.5
Older weight and exercise, healthful eating, and unhealthful eating dif-
1 fers by age.
Although previous research has found gender differ-
0.5
ences in weight as a motivation for exercise and healthful
Exercise

0 eating, we did not find evidence that gender moderated the

relationship between health beliefs and activity or healthful
-0.5 eating. Previous research has shown that gender differences
-1
in exercise and weight control motivation for exercise
decrease with age (Brunet & Sabiston, 2011; Davis et al.,
-1.5 1995). The discrepancy between past results and our find-
Entity Beliefs Incremental beliefs ings could be due, in part, to the fact that our sample is
somewhat older (M = 46.78; SD = 17.05) than studies that
2 have found gender differences in weight control as a moti-
vation for healthful behaviors, many of which focus on
1.5 Younger
adolescents or young adults (Furnham et  al., 2002;
Older
Kilpatrick et al., 2005; K. McDonald & Thompson, 1992).
Unhealthful food

1
We did find evidence of moderation of relationships by age,
0.5 such that holding entity theories (i.e., believing that weight
0
is not changeable) was associated with less exercise among
older participants and less healthful eating among younger
-0.5 participants, though incremental beliefs were associated
with greater unhealthful eating among younger and older
-1
participants, and less healthful eating among older partici-
-1.5 pants. Believing weight was unchangeable was generally
Entity beliefs Incremental beliefs associated with less healthy behaviors than believing
2 weight was changeable, though some moderation was
observed with age.
1.5
Our research builds on previous work on the relationship
1 between changeability beliefs about weight and weight loss
Healthful food

in a number of ways. First, previous work on the relationship

0.5 between weight changeability beliefs and diet and exercise
0 has used self-report measures of weight (e.g., Burnette,
2010). Because people are often inaccurate when self-report-
-0.5 ing their weight and height (Gorber et al., 2007), the present
Younger
study used height and weight as measured by the NHANES
-1 Older
study personnel rather than self-reported weight. Our study
-1.5 also measured health by assessing factors other than weight:
Entity beliefs Incremental beliefs fasting glucose and subjective health. By using the NHANES
data set, we were able to test the relationship between
changeability beliefs and health using a large, nationally rep-
Figure 4. Interactions.
resentative sample. This research also builds on previous
research by showing that the effects of beliefs about weight
(simple slopes were defined using the standard procedure of may differ with age.
assessing values at one standard deviation about the means). The results of the present study must be interpreted in
Unstandardized path coefficients, standard errors, and stan- light of its limitations. First, the present study is cross-sec-
dardized path coefficients are presented in Table 2. tional, and longitudinal research on the relationship between
implicit theories of weight, health behaviors, and physical
health is needed. Second, although the present study used
Discussion
some objective measures of health (investigator-measured
The present study provided evidence that believing weight was BMI and blood glucose levels), exercise, healthful eating,
unchangeable was negatively related to exercise and healthful and unhealthful eating were assessed with self-report and
dietary practices, and positively related to unhealthful eating. thus may be open to incorrect responding, or inaccurate
344 Health Education & Behavior 43(3)
perception, by participants. Finally, the present study
assessed implicit theories of weight with only a single item.
In future research, researchers may want to combine current
scales designed to measure implicit theories of weight
(Burnette, 2010) with objective measures of health.
Despite the limitations of this study, it does have implica-
tions for research and clinical work. Although the present
research does not determine causal direction between health
beliefs and behaviors, it builds on previous experimental
research showing participants who are given information
supporting an entity theory of weight report being more
likely to quit dieting after a setback than participants who
are given information supporting an incremental theory
(Burnette, 2010). Experimental studies might build on this
work by giving participants materials supporting either
incremental or entity implicit theories, and assess the impact
of such manipulations on health behaviors such as exercise
persistence or food choice. Another way to improve health
may be to focus on whether people with motivations other
than weight management to exercise and eat healthfully are
protected against the effects of weight beliefs on behavior.
Such work might occur in conjunction with studies on attri-
tion in dieting and exercise studies or effectiveness of diet
and exercise programs. Encouraging the belief that weight is
changeable and encouraging nonweight motivations for
healthy behaviors may both be effective strategies for
improving health behaviors. Finally, the etiology of entity
theories about weight may be further explored to assess
whether and how those beliefs develop and can be changed.
With regard to clinical applications, the present results
found that the popular belief that weight is almost entirely
genetic and uncontrollable is associated with poor health.
Psychologists, physicians, dietitians, and other health care
providers might have the opportunity to discourage the belief
that weight is uncontrollable or emphasize the importance of
other motivations for healthful eating and exercise (Panzer,
2006). By fighting the perception that weight is unchangeable,
health care providers may be able to increase healthful behav-
iors among their patients.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect
to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.
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