Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Obese children are at greater risk for short-term and long-term physical and mental health problems and poor academic
performance. Obesity targets children from all backgrounds, but it disproportionately affects Hispanic and African-American children.
Ethnic-racial identification is a reliable predictor of obesity, but underlying identity-based processes and mechanisms are not well understood. The proposed project posits that implicit self-stereotyping (ISS), which is a cognitive association between the self and negative stereotypes automatically pink bouncy castle activated outside of conscious awareness, is a determinant of childhood obesity. In collaboration with Newark community agencies and the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS), we will conduct a set of experiments over the next three years that will systematically test the effect of ISS on attitudes toward food and eating behaviors. This project has the potential to build scientific knowledge about the processes that link social cognition and nutrition beliefs and behaviors. The RISC Lab was awarded $75,000 for this project.