Poster Presentation Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society Annual Scientific Conference 2024

Antecedents of weight stigma in Australian undergraduate students (#248)

Megan Mitchell 1 , Aline Kunnel 2 , Andrea R Deussen 1 , Jennie Louise 2 3 , Jodie M Dodd 1 4 , Alyson Crozier 5
  1. Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  2. SAHMRI Women and Kids, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  3. Women’s and Children’s Research Centre, Women’s and Children’s Hospital Research Network, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Women’s and Babies Division, The Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  5. Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Weight bias, the negative attitudes and beliefs about people experiencing overweight and obesity, is pervasive. Understanding weight bias and its antecedents, particularly for health professionals, has implications for addressing mental and physical health for stigmatised individuals. This study explored (1) whether university students studying health related (HR) degrees exhibited more weight bias than their non-health related (NHR) counterparts, and (2) the antecedents related to exercise motivation, eating behaviour and body image.

Using a cross sectional design, students studying HR versus NHR degrees at a university in South Australia were provided a series of validated online surveys at the beginning of their first year of study. Surveys measured explicit (AFA: Anti-Fat Attitudes, BAOP: Beliefs About Obese People) and implicit (IAT: Implicit Attitudes Test) weight bias, exercise motivation (BREQ-2: Behavioural Regulation in Exercise), eating behaviour (DEBQ: Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire) and body image (BID: Body Image Disturbance Scale). Demographic variables and linear regression models explored relationships between weight bias and degree type.

At least one survey was completed by 127 of 188 students who consented. The majority of respondents were female (67.7%), studying HR degrees (66.9%) and 20 years of age or younger (59.1%). There were no differences in implicit or explicit weight bias, eating behaviours or BID between degree types, however, students studying HR degrees reported significantly greater introjected (p=0.048), identified (p=0.038) and intrinsic (p=0.037) exercise motivation (BREQ-2) compared to NHR students. As a cohort, these students had high BID scores, and greater explicit weight bias compared to previous studies.

This study suggests that Australian undergraduate students form weight biased attitudes before starting university, irrespective of their interest in pursuing a career in HR fields. An opportunity exists to educate all students during tertiary education about the biopsychosocial contributions to obesity and health, to address weight bias in future generations.