Table 1 Questions used to quantify attitudes towards obesity and weight management
From: Clustering of attitudes towards obesity: a mixed methods study of Australian parents and children
Title | Question | Verbal anchor for 0 | Verbal anchor for 5 | Verbal anchor for 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Severity | Do you think obesity is a serious and major health problem in Australia? | Not a problem at all, just hype | A problem, but not as serious as some say | It’s Australia’s most serious health problem |
Rank | Where do you think Australia ranks in the global prevalence of obesity? | In the bottom half | In the top 10 fattest nations | Australia is the fattest nation |
Trends | Do you think more and more people are becoming overweight and obese? | No, there’s been no increase in the last decade | It seems to be still increasing | It’s increasing faster than ever |
Cause | What do you think is the main cause of obesity? | Almost completely by genetics | A combination of genetic and lifestyle and environmental factors | Lifestyle and environment |
Blame | Who do you think is to blame for childhood obesity? | Entirely the fault of parents and children | An equal mix of both | It’s all because of the society we live in |
Remedy | What do you think is the best way to reduce obesity? | People have to change themselves | Make the right choice the easy choice | Force people to change. Make it impossible to eat bad food and be inactive |
Messages | What is the best way to get people to lose weight: fear and shame, or positive messages? | Fear and shame work for tobacco: they should work for obesity too | Maybe a bit of both | We should focus on healthy eating and physical activity |
Prevalence | What percentage of Australian adults would be considered “obese”? | 0 | 50 | 100 |