Weight stigma consciousness and perceived physical appearance : their key precursors and relationship to health behaviors

Graduation date: 2008The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between weight stigma consciousness, perceived body appearance, social physique anxiety, and the health outcomes of physical activity levels and eating behaviors. Select precursors were also examined. These relationships were based on Harter's model of self-worth. Two-hundred fifteen adults with a BMI of ≥ 25 completed a set of online questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships of interest. Weight stigma consciousness (.67) loaded more heavily on social physique anxiety than did perceived body appearance (-.35). The variance explained for social physique anxiety was 69%. Fifty-four percent of the variance was explained in disordered eating, but only 5% of the variance was explained for physical activity. This study demonstrates the powerful impact of weight discrimination on the health behaviors of people with excess weight