DO OBESE WOMEN HAVE POORER SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS THAN NONOBESE WOMEN -REPORTS BY SELF, FRIENDS, AND COWORKERS

Both theory and research suggest that obese women may have relatively poor social relationships even if their self-reports about their relat ionships do not differ from the reports of nonobese women. Seventy-sev en obese and 78 nonobese women completed self-report measures of socia l anxiety, social self-esteem, social competence, social network size, and perceived social support from friends and family. Friends and cow orkers also rated these women on the same measures. The self-reports o f obese and nonobese women did not differ significantly on any of thes e social measures, and ratings from friends and coworkers of obese wom en were not different from ratings of nonobese women by friends and co workers. These results suggest that obese women may be able to overcom e prejudice against obese people in their relationships with others.