WORK ETHIC DEPRESSES OVERWEIGHT WOMEN.

PositionBrief Article

The American emphasis on hard work and self-reliance may have made this country what it is today, but, according to researchers, the Protestant work ethic also makes overweight women feel bad about themselves. A study by psychologists Diane M. Quinn and Jennifer Crocker, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, found that overweight women who endorse the values of hard work, self-discipline, and personal responsibility are more anxious and depressed than overweight women who don't. They also have lower self-esteem.

Moreover, being exposed to debates or speeches about welfare vs. workfare, or similar themes, has the power to make overweight women feel bad about themselves. "We found that having a conservative ideology, or just being exposed to that viewpoint, has a negative effect on the self-esteem and mood of women who believe they're overweight," Quinn indicates. "We don't know how long-lasting those effects are. They could be...

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