Symposia
Oppression and Resilience Minority Health
Savannah C. Hooper, B.A. (she/her/hers)
Graduate Student
University of Louisville
San Antonio, Texas
Chevese Turner, B.A.
CEO
Body Equity Alliance
Severna Park, Maryland
Lisa S. Kilpela, Ph.D.
Assistant professor
UT Health San Antonio Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies
San Antonio, Texas
Victoria B. Marshall, B.A.
Research Assistant
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
Sabrina Cuauro, B.A. (she/her/hers)
Research Assistant
Trinity University
San Antonio, Texas
Carolyn B. Becker, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Professor
Trinity University
San Antonio, Texas
Weight stigma (the social denigration/devaluation of individuals perceived to carry excess weight; Tomiyama et al., 2014) is associated with a variety of poor physical and mental health outcomes, including eating disorder pathology, anxiety, depression, and poorer quality of life (Papadopoulos & Brennan, 2015). These relationships appear to be stronger in individuals in higher weight bodies (Emmer et al., 2019). Individuals can experience weight stigma in a variety of settings, including healthcare. Experiencing weight stigma in healthcare settings is related to less frequent medical checkups, worse quality of recent healthcare experiences, and greater healthcare avoidance due to feeling uncomfortable with one’s body being examined (Puhl et al., 2021). Additionally, in one study examining a large sample of adults with eating disorders (N = 13,966), 18% attributed their eating disorder to anti-obesity messaging; 10.4% reported healthcare as a common source of this messaging. While it is well established that healthcare providers have weight biases and that this can affect an individual’s interactions with healthcare, the direct consequences of experiencing weight stigma from healthcare professionals on mental health and disordered eating are largely unknown. If we are going to dismantle weight stigma in healthcare settings, we must better understand the consequences of these experiences, particularly for individuals most likely to have these experiences (i.e., higher weight individuals). Therefore, the current study examined cross-sectional relations of lifetime experiences of weight stigma in healthcare settings with various mental health indicators in a sample of adults who identified currently, or in the past, as being in a higher weight body. Participants (ages 18+) completed an online survey assessing experiences of weight stigma in healthcare settings, internalized weight bias, eating disorder pathology, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and psychosocial impairment due to eating disorder features. Data collection is ongoing (current N = 295). The final sample and analyses will be presented during the symposium, alongside potential implications for dismantling weight stigma in healthcare settings.