@article {Essex372, author = {Gwen Essex and Keiko Miyahara and Dorothy J. Rowe}, title = {Dental Hygienists{\textquoteright} Attitudes Toward the Obese Population}, volume = {90}, number = {6}, pages = {372--378}, year = {2016}, publisher = {American Dental Hygienists{\textquoteright} Association}, abstract = {Purpose: To explore dental hygienists{\textquoteright} attitudes toward the obese population and to determine whether there are differences in attitudes among those with different self-reported body images.Methods: The study population was dental hygienists whose email addresses were in the database of the California Dental Hygienists{\textquoteright} Association (CDHA). CDHA distributed the electronic message containing study information, informed consent, and a link to the survey. The survey consisted of 14 items from the Fat Phobia Scale, 13 items from the Anti-fat Attitudes Questionnaire (AFAQ), 3 demographic questions, and 1 question on body image. Frequencies of responses for each survey item were calculated, and Likert-like scale responses from the AFAQ were analyzed to determine significant differences among self-reported body images.Results: Of the 6,248 email addresses in the CDHA database, 518 hygienists or 8\% responded. Mild fat phobia was indicated by 57\% of the word pair scores on the Fat Phobia Scale being higher than 2.50. On the AFAQ, 84\% agreed to the statement, {\textquotedblleft}People who weigh too much could lose at least some part of their weight through a little exercise.{\textquotedblright} Significantly (p\<0.05) more respondents who self-reported as overweight than underweight agreed to {\textquotedblleft}I feel disgusted with myself when I gain weight{\textquotedblright} and {\textquotedblleft}I worry about becoming fat,{\textquotedblright} while more in the overweight than underweight category significantly (p\<0.05) disagreed with {\textquotedblleft}Fat people make me somewhat uncomfortable.{\textquotedblright}Conclusion: Dental hygienists exhibited mildly negative attitudes toward the obese population. Curricula specific to the role of the dental hygienist in addressing the health effects of obesity are recommended.}, issn = {1553-0205}, URL = {https://jdh.adha.org/content/90/6/372}, eprint = {https://jdh.adha.org/content/90/6/372.full.pdf}, journal = {American Dental Hygienists{\textquoteright} Association} }