Weight‐Related Terms Differentially Affect Self‐Efficacy and Perception of Obesity
Open accessAbstract
Objective: Little work has explored the effect of weight‐related terms on treatment initiation; only one study has investigated weight‐related terms and the psychological constructs associated with treatment uptake. The present study examines the effects of four common weight‐related terms on treatment initiation and the moderating effect of weight bias internalization. Methods: Adult participants with overweight and obesity (n = 436) were recruited online and asked to read three vignettes describing clinical encounters; the weight‐related term (i.e., “weight,” “BMI,” “obesity,” or “fat”) was varied randomly. Participants then reported self‐efficacy, cognitive and emotional illness beliefs about obesity (i.e., illness perception), and interest in a weight loss program. Results: The term “obesity” resulted in the greatest self‐efficacy and perceived control over obesity. “Fat” resulted in the least illness coherence (i.e., understanding of obesity). Weight bias internalization did not moderate the effect of term on self‐efficacy, nor did it moderate illness perception. No differences in weight loss program enrollment were observed. Conclusions: Use of the term “obesity” may promote patients’ perceived control and self‐efficacy. Use of “fat” should be avoided. Results suggest that, despite patient and clinician preference for euphemistic weight terms, use of clinical language such as “obesity” may perform better in provider intervention.
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Weight stigma shapes cognitive and emotional factors, including how threatening illness seems, beliefs about whether diabetes can be prevented, and worry about symptoms.
“Weight stigma impacts cognitive and affective factors such as perceptions of illness threat, including beliefs about diabetes preventability and concern about developing associated symptoms (Hopkins & Bennett, 2018)”
From A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-Informed Diabetes Prevention Program Reduces Body Shame and Distress. (2025) · cites this paper as Hopkins & Bennett, 2018
The Results section reports that weight-related terms affected perceived control over and understanding of obesity, supporting a narrower claim about cognitive illness perceptions. It found no significant effect on emotional illness perceptions, and the paper does not report effects of weight stigma on beliefs about diabetes preventability or worry about developing symptoms. Its study varied clinical terms rather than weight stigma itself. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredWeight-focused prevention approaches can lower self-efficacy.
“Weight-focused prevention approaches can lower self-efficacy (Hopkins & Bennett, 2018)”
From A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-Informed Diabetes Prevention Program Reduces Body Shame and Distress. (2025) · cites this paper as Hopkins & Bennett, 2018
The Results section reports lower self-efficacy after vignettes using “weight” than after otherwise identical vignettes using “obesity.” This supports the possibility that weight-related language can affect self-efficacy, but the study tested terminology in simulated clinical encounters, not weight-focused prevention approaches. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Hopkins, C. M., & Bennett, G. G.
- Affiliations
- Duke University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hopkins, Christina M.
- Venue
- Obesity
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-09
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1405-1411
- ISSN
- 1930-7381 (ISSN-L)
- 1930-739X
- OpenAlex
- W2890030412
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 3.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Obesity (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Obesity and Health Practices
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
- Keywords
- self-efficacy, illness perception, weight bias internalization, perceived control, euphemistic expressions, body mass index, clinical language, overweight
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Body Weight, Female, Humans, Language, Male, Obesity, Perception, Self Efficacy, Overweight
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