hmmmm...
Well, this is interesting. Given the questions we had, I decided to try to find the article in question by Colleen Rand. I started by looking in Rethinking Thin, but interestingly enough, Kolata does not list an academic reference, just another article she wrote herself, which, with a little digging, I found
here.
That article, published in 1992 in the New York Times, is of no help either and does not cite the original source. All it says regarding that study is "In a recent study of formerly fat people who had lost weight after intestinal bypass surgery, researchers at the University of Florida reported that virtually all said they would rather be blind or deaf or have a leg amputated than be fat again." So, there is a little more info about the participants (they lost weight via gastric bypass), but not a lot.
I have access to academic databases, and have found a number of articles by Colleen Rand, but still have not uncovered this "classic". Rand is now retired from the University of Florida, so the University's website was of no help. I have found a number of references, but none of the abstracts include this info, and don't seem to have the right number of participants. I may keep looking, but Rand herself doesn't seem to cite this earlier article or make reference to these findings.
In other words, the only reference I have been able to find so far regarding this "classic" study, is a reference the author (Kolata) gives for another piece she wrote in which she cited it. In neither place does she provide a citation for the original source, so there is no way to verify the info and answer the kinds of questions Susan B asked!!
I'm a little disturbed by that.