Anirban Mukhopadhyay: Obesity and Leanwashing

Obesity is a worldwide problem with serious economic and social costs. Prof Anirban Mukhopadhyay studied what laypeople believe about the causes of obesity, and the consequences of these beliefs at the individual and societal levels. In contrast to medical research which agrees that a poor diet is the single greatest determinant of obesity, his team found that only about half of laypeople implicate this factor. This has serious consequences because people who mistakenly underestimate the role of diet, and instead attribute obesity to insufficient exercise, are more likely to be overweight than people whose beliefs are correct.

Anirban Mukhopadhyay (PhD, Columbia) is Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies at HKUST Business School.