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Weight stigma facilitates unhealthy eating and weight gain via fear of fat.

ABSTRACT: Objective:Across two studies, we examine if the relationships between perceived weight stigma, maladaptive eating behaviors (Study 1 & 2) and weight gain (Study 2) are mediated by fear of fat (FOF). Method:In Study 1, 189 participants completed measures of eating behavior (e.g., emotional and restrained eating), FOF, perceived weight stigma and height and weight. In Study 2, a longitudinal design, participants reported their perceived weight stigma, FOF and had their height and weight measured; they then returned 10 weeks later to complete measures of eating behaviors (e.g., flexible restraint, ridged restraint, and emotional eating) and height and weight. We examined the predictive value of weight stigma at session 1 on eating behavior and weight gain at session 2. Further, we examined FOF as a mediator of these relationships. Results:In Study 1, we found that FOF significantly mediated the positive relationship between perceived weight stigma and restrained eating behavior (b=.13, CI: .09 to .19). In Study 2, we found that perceived weight stigma predicted weight gain over the 10-week period and that this relationship was mediated by both FOF (b=.31, CI: .03 to .78) and rigid restraint of eating (b=.07, CI: .002 to .28). Flexible restraint and emotional eating behavior were not mediators of the relationship between perceived weight stigma and weight gain. Conclusion:Fear of fat may be one process through which perceptions of weight stigma lead to maladaptive eating behavior and weight gain. Understanding this important process may lead to more effective healthy weight interventions.

SUBMITTER: Wellman JD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6132275 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Weight stigma facilitates unhealthy eating and weight gain via fear of fat.

Wellman Joseph D JD Araiza Ashley M AM Newell Ellen E EE McCoy Shannon K SK

Stigma and health 20170209 3

<h4>Objective</h4>Across two studies, we examine if the relationships between perceived weight stigma, maladaptive eating behaviors (Study 1 & 2) and weight gain (Study 2) are mediated by fear of fat (FOF).<h4>Method</h4>In Study 1, 189 participants completed measures of eating behavior (e.g., emotional and restrained eating), FOF, perceived weight stigma and height and weight. In Study 2, a longitudinal design, participants reported their perceived weight stigma, FOF and had their height and we ...[more]

PMID: 30221195

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Project description:BackgroundWeight stigma is pervasive across the U.S. and is associated with poor health outcomes including all-cause mortality. One potential reason that weight stigma may be detrimental to health is that it begets poorer health behaviors. Therefore, the present study tested for associations between weight stigma and four health behaviors (i.e., eating behavior, alcohol use, sleep disturbance, and physical activity), while controlling for BMI and other potential confounds.Subjects/methodsParticipants (N = 2022) in the U.S. were recruited for the Eating in America Study using a Qualtrics panel between December 2019 and January 2020 and were census-matched according to national quotas for age, gender, income, race/ethnicity, and census region. Participants completed questionnaires about weight stigma, health behaviors, demographics, and anthropometric measurements. The current study employed a two-stage investigation: exploratory analyses were first performed on a random sample of the dataset (n = 438), then the remaining unexamined data were used to conduct confirmatory analyses that were preregistered on the Open Science Framework.ResultsControlling for BMI, weight stigma was significantly associated with greater disordered eating (b = 0.34, 95% CI [0.31, 0.38], p < 0.001), comfort eating (b = 0.32, 95% CI [0.25, 0.39], p < 0.001), sleep disturbance (b = 0.27, 95% CI [0.20, 0.33], p < 0.001), and alcohol use (b = 0.30, 95% CI [0.11, 0.49], p = 0.002), but not lower physical activity (b = -0.04, 95% CI [-0.13, 0.05], p = 0.402) for individuals across the weight spectrum. BMI and perceived weight status significantly moderated the effects of weight stigma on disordered eating and alcohol use. No gender differences were found. These confirmatory analyses partially replicated the exploratory stage 1 findings.ConclusionsThis study provides preliminary evidence that weight stigma is linked to several poor health behaviors, which may impact physical health.

Project description:Background:The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among weight stigma, eating behaviors, and stress, as well as to analyze the effect of stress in mediating the association between weight stigma and eating behaviors. Methods:The study involved 1818 adolescents between 14 to 19?years of age and was conducted in Wuhan, China in 2019. Weight stigma, eating behaviors (cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating), and stress were assessed by self-report questionnaires. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to examine the predictors of cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating; the serial mediation models analyses were conducted to analyze the effect of stress in mediating the association between weight stigma and eating behaviors for the whole non-overweight (normal and underweight) and overweight or obese participants, respectively. Results:Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that experiences of weight stigma significantly predicted uncontrolled eating and emotional eating regardless of body mass index (BMI) (non-overweight adolescents: uncontrolled eating: ? [SE]?=?0.161 [0.017]; emotional eating: ? [SE]?=?0.199 [0.008], p?<?0.05; overweight or obese adolescents: uncontrolled eating: ? [SE]?=?0.286 [0.030]; emotional eating: ? [SE]?=?0.267 [0.014], p?<?0.05); experiences of weight stigma significantly predicted cognitive restraint among non-overweight adolescents (? [SE]?=?0.204 [0.013], p?<?0.05). Mediation analyses showed that stress mediated the associations between weight stigma and uncontrolled eating and emotional eating among non-overweight adolescents (uncontrolled eating: indirect effect coefficient?=?0.0352, 95% CI?=?0.0241, 0.0478; emotional eating: indirect effect coefficient?=?0.0133, 95% CI?=?0.0085, 0.0186). Conclusions:These findings suggest that non-overweight individuals can still experience weight stigma and its associated negative consequences; the relationship between weight stigma and eating behaviors is modulated by weight status; stress mediated the associations between weight stigma and uncontrolled and emotional eating among non-overweight adolescents.

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Weight stigma facilitates unhealthy eating and weight gain via fear of fat.

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Weight stigma facilitates unhealthy eating and weight gain via fear of fat.

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