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Cited by 367Obesity and Health PracticesObesity, Physical Activity, DietEating Disorders and Behaviors

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Perceived Weight Discrimination and Obesity

Open access
Sutin, Angelina R., Terracciano, Antonio·2013·PLoS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0070048PMC PMC3722198
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Abstract

Weight discrimination is prevalent in American society. Although associated consistently with psychological and economic outcomes, less is known about whether weight discrimination is associated with longitudinal changes in obesity. The objectives of this research are (1) to test whether weight discrimination is associated with risk of becoming obese (Body Mass Index≥30; BMI) by follow-up among those not obese at baseline, and (2) to test whether weight discrimination is associated with risk of remaining obese at follow-up among those already obese at baseline. Participants were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative longitudinal survey of community-dwelling US residents. A total of 6,157 participants (58.6% female) completed the discrimination measure and had weight and height available from the 2006 and 2010 assessments. Participants who experienced weight discrimination were approximately 2.5 times more likely to become obese by follow-up (OR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.58-4.08) and participants who were obese at baseline were three times more likely to remain obese at follow up (OR = 3.20, 95% CI = 2.06-4.97) than those who had not experienced such discrimination. These effects held when controlling for demographic factors (age, sex, ethnicity, education) and when baseline BMI was included as a covariate. These effects were also specific to weight discrimination; other forms of discrimination (e.g., sex, race) were unrelated to risk of obesity at follow-up. The present research demonstrates that, in addition to poorer mental health outcomes, weight discrimination has implications for obesity. Rather than motivating individuals to lose weight, weight discrimination increases risk for obesity.

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  • Correlative and randomized-controlled studies show that experience of weight stigma is linked with lower physical activity, higher exercise avoidance, unhealthy diets, sedentary behaviors, increased obesity and weight gain over time, and increased risk of transitioning from overweight to obesity in adults and adolescents.

    “Correlative and randomized-controlled studies also show that experience of weight stigma is linked with lower levels of physical activity, higher exercise avoidance29–31, consumption of unhealthy diets, and increased sedentary behaviors1–3, as well as increased obesity and weight gain over time32, and increased risk of transitioning from overweight to obesity in both adults and adolescents33–35.”

    From Joint international consensus statement for ending stigma of obesity (2020) · cites this paper as [32]

    The Results report that adults who were overweight at baseline and reported weight discrimination had a higher risk of obesity at follow-up (OR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.24–3.56). The Introduction identifies the study population as American adults, and the Discussion describes it as an older population. This source therefore supports the adult transition claim, but not the claim about adolescents. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Research works printed but not linked: 34

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Metadata

Authors
Sutin, A. R., & Terracciano, A.
Affiliations
Florida State University (US)
Corresponding author
Sutin, Angelina R.
ORCID
Venue
PLoS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2013-07-24
Volume
8
Issue
7
Pages
e70048
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0070048
PMC
PMC3722198
OpenAlex
W1998830282
Cited by
367
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 47 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 36 · 2017: 35 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 35 · 2013: 3
FWCI
30.96
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity and Health Practices
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
Keywords
weight discrimination, obesity, body mass index, weight gain, weight loss, health care discrimination, Health and Retirement Study, older adults, weight stigma
MeSH terms
Aged, Body Weight, Discrimination, Psychological, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity, Weight Perception, Body Mass Index

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