In the world of body image, some troubling signs emerge

FORT LAUDERDALE - While it may be no surprise that people often have a low opinion of the overweight, a new study finds that just standing next to a large person can be bad for your image.

In the English study, psychologist Jason Halford and colleagues from the University of Liverpool tested 144 female students' reactions to two prom photos. One showed a dapper, thin young fellow standing next to a svelte ringlet-haired woman. The other was the same photo altered to show the guy arm-in-arm with a very large, nicely dressed woman.

The volunteers took a quick look at one or the other of the pictures and then were asked their opinion of the man. They rated him from 1 to 5 on 50 negative adjectives - called the "fat phobia scale" - that people often use to describe obese people.

The man with the big woman was rated 22 percent more negatively. He was more likely to be described as miserable, self-indulgent, passive, shapeless, depressed, weak, insignificant and insecure.

The study also found that students who were themselves overweight were more likely than usual to rate the man harshly when pictured with the obese partner.

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