For many people, a decision to lose weight isn't just made because of the obvious health advantages, but to change the way people think about them. So it's a shame that new research suggest that, in the minds of friends and family, a fat person is always fat, regardless of how much weight they lose. 
 
 The research, carried out by the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, The University of Manchester, and Monash University, examined how anti-fat prejudice persists even after women lose weight. 
 
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 To do that, the team of researchers asked participants to read short descriptions of women who had either: lost 70 pounds; stayed consistently fat; or stayed consistently slim. Then, the participants were asked their opinions on the women—including how attractive they found them—as well as being asked about their general attitude towards fat people. Janet Latner, one of the researchers from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, explains the results, which are also published in the journal Obesity: 
 
 "Those who had been obese in the past were perceived as less attractive than those who had always been thin, despite having identical height and weight. "The findings demonstrate that residual obesity stigma persists against individuals who have ever been obese, even when they have lost substantial amounts of weight." 
 
 Perhaps predictably, the researchers blame the effect on a widespread societal belief that weight is highly controllable. While there is evidence that both supports and refutes the assumption that it's easy to shed pounds, it's undeniable that weight is thought of negatively—a notion regularly amplified by the popular press. 
 
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 Of course, working out how to change that is extremely difficult—especially when you can't even convince your friends that you've lost weight. [Obesity via EurekAlert] 
 
 Image by Olly/SHutterstock 

 Overweight women may never escape the painful stigma of obesity - even after they have shed the pounds, new research suggests. 
 
 The study, by the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, The University of Manchester, and Monash University, examined whether anti-fat prejudice against women persisted even after they had lost significant weight and were now thin. 
 
 The researchers asked young men and women to read vignettes describing a woman who had either lost weight (70 pounds/32 kilograms) or had remained weight stable, and who was either currently obese or currently thin. Participants were then asked their opinions about this woman on a number of attributes, such as how attractive they found her, and their overall dislike for fat people. 
 
 The team found that participants in the study - published in the journal Obesity - expressed greater bias against obese people after reading about women who had lost weight than after reading about women who had remained weight stable, regardless of whether the weight-stable woman was thin or obese. 
 
 "We were surprised to find that currently thin women were viewed differently depending on their weight history," said Dr Janet Latner, study lead at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, US. "Those who had been obese in the past were perceived as less attractive than those who had always been thin, despite having identical height and weight." 
 
 One of the more disturbing findings from the study, the researchers noted, was that negative attitudes towards obese people increase when participants are falsely told that body weight is easily controllable. 
 
 Co-author, Dr Kerry O'Brien, from the University of Manchester's School of Psychological Sciences and Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, said: "The message we often hear from society is that weight is highly controllable, but the best science in the obesity field at the moment suggests that one's physiology and genetics, as well as the food environment, are the really big players in one's weight status and weight-loss. 
 
 "Weight status actually appears rather uncontrollable, regardless of one's willpower, knowledge, and dedication. Yet many people who are perceived as 'fat' are struggling in vain to lose weight in order to escape this painful social stigma. We need to rethink our approaches to, and views of, weight and obesity." 
 
 The findings, say the authors, demonstrate that residual obesity stigma persists against individuals who have ever been obese, even when they have lost substantial amounts of weight. Obesity stigma is so powerful and enduring that it appears to even outlast the obesity itself. 
 
 Dr Latner added: "Descriptions of weight loss, such as those often promoted on television, may significantly worsen obesity stigma. Believing that obese people can easily lose weight may make individuals blame and dislike obese people more. 
 
 "The findings demonstrate that residual obesity stigma persists against individuals who have ever been obese, even when they have lost substantial amounts of weight. Obesity stigma is so powerful and enduring that it may even outlast the obesity itself. Given the great number of people who may be negatively affected by this prejudice, obesity discrimination clearly needs to be reduced on a societal level." 
 
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 Notes for editors: 
 
 A copy of the paper, ''Residual Obesity Stigma: An Experimental Investigation of Bias against Obese and Lean Targets Differing in Weight-Loss History,' is available on request. 

 This study investigated stigma directed at formerly obese persons who lost weight and became lean (through behavioral or surgical methods), or lost weight but remained obese, relative to weight-stable obese and weight-stable lean persons. This study also compared stigma directed at obese persons following exposure to descriptions of persons who lost weight vs. remained weight stable. In a between-subject experimental design, participants (n = 273) were randomly assigned to read vignettes describing targets varying across two dimensions, weight stability (i.e., weight stable or weight lost) and current weight (i.e., currently obese or currently lean). Participants completed measures of stigma against specific targets and measures of stigma against obese individuals in general. Lean individuals who were formerly obese were stigmatized more on attractiveness than weight-stable lean individuals, and as much as currently obese individuals. Stigma across domains was greater among currently obese individuals (regardless of whether they had lost weight from a higher weight) than among currently lean individuals. After reading vignettes describing weight loss, participants demonstrated greater obesity stigma than after reading vignettes describing weight-stable individuals. These results suggest that residual stigma remains against people who have previously been obese, even when they have lost substantial amounts of weight and regardless of their weight-loss method. Exposure to portrayals of the malleability of body weight, such as those promoted in the popular media, may significantly worsen obesity stigma.
– If you're female and overweight, we have bad news: Even if you lose weight, your friends will likely always think of you as fat. A new study finds that women have a hard time shedding the stigma of obesity, notes EurekAlert.org. Young men and women read about a woman who had either lost 70 pounds or remained at a stable weight, and who was currently either obese or thin, and were then asked questions about the woman and their feelings about her. The study found that participants were more biased against obese people after reading about women who had lost weight than they were after reading about women who remained stable—even if the stable women were obese. "We were surprised to find that currently thin women were viewed differently depending on their weight history," says the lead researcher. "Those who had been obese in the past were perceived as less attractive than those who had always been thin, despite having identical height and weight." Hat tip to Gizmodo for the find.