Perceived weight discrimination in England: a population-based study of adults aged ⩾50 years

Obesity is thought to cause ill health because of the biological strain that excess fat has on physiological function. We tested an alternative explanation in a population-based sample of 3,609 older English adults—that the pervasive discrimination experienced by individuals with excess weight may in part explain why obesity is associated with subsequent multisystem physiological dysregulation, measured via clinical indicators of cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune function. We found that both obesity and perceived weight discrimination predicted an increase in physiological dysregulation from baseline to follow-up 4 years later. Perceived discrimination because of body weight experienced by individuals with obesity explained more than one quarter of the prospective association between obesity and a deterioration in biomarkers of health status. These findings highlight the possibility that the stigma experienced by individuals with obesity may play an important role in explaining the obesity-related disease burden.

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Weight self-perception in adolescents: evidence from a population-based study

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980021000690 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-32

Author(s):

Mariana Contiero San Martini ◽

Daniela de Assumpção ◽

Marilisa Berti de Azevedo Barros ◽

Antônio de Azevedo Barros Filho ◽

Josiemer Mattei

Keyword(s):

Diet Quality ◽

Population Based ◽

Excess Weight ◽

Self Perception ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Population Based Study ◽

Weight Misperception ◽

Food Quantity ◽

Perceived Weight ◽

Weekly Frequency

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: Evaluate weight misperception among adolescents and determine associations between self-perceived weight and sociodemographic characteristics, BMI, screen time, self-rated food quantity and diet quality, weekly frequency of breakfast and the consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, two-stage, probabilistic population-based study was conducted in Campinas, Brazil. Multinomial logistic regressions were run to estimate weight self-perception. SETTING: Data from the Campinas Health Survey (ISACamp) and Campinas Food Consumption Survey (ISACamp-Nutri). PARTICIPANTS: A total of 911 adolescents aged 10–19 years. RESULTS: Nearly half (47.7%) of the adolescents with overweight/obesity did not evaluate their weight properly. Weight self-perception as thin and excess weight were associated with the female gender, overweight/obesity, self-rated diet quality as poor/very poor, and eating snacks ≥3 times/week. Adolescents who did not consume breakfast daily were less likely to perceive themselves as thin. Adolescents who ate excessively were more likely and those who consumed cookies/crackers ≥3 times/week were less likely to perceive themselves as having excess weight. CONCLUSIONS: Greater weight misperception was found in overweight/obese adolescents. Gender, BMI, self-rated food quantity/diet quality, weekly frequency of breakfast and some unhealthy foods were associated with self-perceived weight. The present findings could contribute to health promotion strategies targeting adolescents.

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