299572
Sticks and stones: The association between weight discrimination and mental and physical wellbeing
In this study, 379 overweight or obese adults (88% female, mean age 37.6 years, mean BMI 36.8) were recruited from social media sites related to health, fitness, weight-loss, and plus-size fashion. Participants completed online questionnaires about internalised weight stigma, experiences of societal stigma, and psychological and behavioural health outcomes. Participants were based in the UK (45%), North America (34%); Oceania (7%), Canada (6%), Europe (6%), and Other (2%).
Anti-fat attitudes, experienced prejudice or discrimination, and internalised weight stigma were prevalent in all geographic regions. Interpersonal stigma was the most commonly reported form of experienced stigma; however, in institutional settings, over 80% had received inappropriate comments from doctors, and over 25% had experienced weight-based discrimination in an employment setting. More than one in ten had been physically attacked because of their weight, some more than once, With the exception of assault, females experienced significantly more stigma from all sources, even after controlling for BMI. Both experienced and internalised stigma were associated with more disordered eating behaviours, poorer self-esteem, worse body image, and a greater restriction on public activities such as exercising: however, the effects of internalisation appear to be even greater than those of actual stigma experiences. After controlling for age, gender, BMI and dieting behaviour, only internalised weight stigma explained a significant amount of variance in all outcomes. Focussing future interventions on reducing internalisation of ubiquitous anti-fat messages may improve health outcomes in overweight individuals.
Learning Areas:
Other professions or practice related to public healthPublic health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
List different sources of societal weight stigma.
Identify important health and behavioral correlates of internalised and societal weight stigma.
Assess health practitioners' role in perpetuating stigma and health disparities.
Keyword(s): Obesity, Health Disparities/Inequities
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a doctoral researcher specialising in the prevalence and impact of experienced and internalised weight stigma among overweight and obese individuals. I have a particular interest in the negative impact of stigma on health behaviors and psychological outcomes, and am in the process of developing a brief self-administered intervention to reduce this impact and hopefully improve wellbeing. In 2013, I also organised the First Annual International Weight Stigma Conference, now in its second year.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.