Relationship between body mass index and moral disapproval rating for ethical violations

Abstract

Evidence documents a direct relationship between disgust processing and Body Mass Index (BMI). People with high BMI tend to have a lower disgust sensitivity (DS) threshold, while this trait is more accentuated in people with low BMI. Here we provide new insights to this issue by exploring the relationship between BMI and the experience of moral disgust. Results document a significant negative correlation between BMI and moral disapproval rating (MDR) for ethical violations, in that the higher the BMI the lower the MDR. In concordance with previous investigations, we also found that BMI correlates with DS, as measured with a standard test, in that the higher the BMI the lower the DS. Overall, the main result of this paper, which might have direct implication for research in social justice, highlights the relevance of BMI, as an individual variable, in predicting ethical behavior.