Weight Bias, Mental Health and Obesity: What Health Promoters Need to Know

Ecological models of prevention have emerged to help address health problems in children including eating disorders and obesity; this includes intervening at multiple levels (contexts) with multiple influencers including adults.  A critical first step needed in changing the environment is to address the attitudes and values regarding weight and food of adult influencers themselves. A key, yet largely ignored public health issue in obesity prevention work is weight bias. Weight biases among health professionals are equal to or exceed those in the general population, where rates of weight discrimination surpass rates of racial discrimination and discrimination based on sexuality (Puhl et al., 2008). Being on the receiving end of weight bias triggers anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction and suicidal thoughts among children and youth (Muening, 2008). Children and youth are not likely to be spared the negative consequences of prejudice without changes to the larger societal factors that reinforce weight stigma, key among those are the attitudes of health promoters (Brownell et al., 2009). The following poster presentation outlines findings from a study conducted with 336 public health staff that examined  1) factors that influence weight bias and 2) the associations between weight bias nd sense of self-efficacy to recognize and address weight bias, pressures to diet, and weight-based bullying.  The findings revealed that negative attitudes about weight and body shape, as reflected by low body satisfaction and high internalization of the media ideal scores were significantly predictive of weight bias among health promoters working in obesity prevention. Weight bias, in turn, was significantly predictive of a lower sense of self-efficacy to address weight bias, including standing up for people who are being pressured to diet or who are being discriminated against/bullied about their weight.  Implications for weight bias awareness training to be included in obesity prevention work as a key strategy to help health promoters establish a supportive social environment for children and youth are discussed.