This study examined the association between media and Instagram interaction patterns with weight bias among undergraduate nutrition students in the Brazilian Nutritionists\' Health Study. We also explored the potential mediating role of students\' own body image perception in these relationships. A total of 406 students (78% women) participated in this cross-sectional analysis. Sociodemographic data, media influence, Instagram interaction patterns, body image perception, and weight bias were assessed using semi-structured questionnaires. Findings indicated that exposure to fitness content on Instagram (β = 0.17, p < 0.001) and the pursuit of an ideal athletic body (β = 0.12, p = 0.034) were associated with increased weight bias. In contrast, engagement with body diversity content (β = -0.23, p < 0.001) and perceived pressure from media to conform to appearance ideals (β = -0.24, p < 0.001) had a mitigating effect on weight bias. Notably, body image perception did not mediate these relationships (p > 0.05). In conclusion, this study revealed a link between media exposure and weight bias among undergraduate nutrition students, independent of their body image perception. Developing social media literacy programs that encourage students to critically evaluate media content is imperative to reduce weight bias. Additionally, a deeper examination of the media content that contributes to weight bias and the potential need for targeted regulatory measures is warranted.

OBJECTIVE: Assess the impact of a weight-inclusive podcast (WIP) intervention on body appreciation, intuitive eating (IE), anti-fat attitudes, and weight and health attitudes in university students enrolled in an upper-division nutrition course.
METHODS: Quasi-experimental design: Intervention participants listened to 8 weekly WIP episodes (n = 16); the comparison group listened to 8 weekly general nutrition podcasts (n = 29). Intuitive eating, body appreciation, anti-fat attitudes, and general weight and health attitudes were measured preintervention and postintervention.
RESULTS: Two-way, repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant interaction effects of time × group, with participants in the WIP group experiencing significantly greater improvements in body appreciation (P = 0.03) and IE (P = 0.02) and greater reductions in anti-fat attitude scores (P = 0.006) than the comparison group.
CONCLUSIONS: Podcasts may be a cost-effective tool to improve body appreciation and IE and reduce anti-fat attitudes in future nutrition professionals. Future research would benefit from recruiting prehealth professionals across different majors.

UNASSIGNED: Provider bias against patients of higher weights can contribute to poor health outcomes and decreased quality of care and patient experience. Addressing weight stigma in sexual and reproductive health settings is important, as these encounters can often be patients\' only health care touchpoint. Health care providers must be educated about the harms of weight stigma, ways to recognize and confront their biases, and how to advocate for patients of all sizes.
UNASSIGNED: In this quality improvement project, Planned Parenthood health center providers participated in a three-part virtual workshop to improve provider weight bias awareness and understanding using the Health at Every Size framework. Providers completed a pre- and post-survey, as well as a 3-month follow-up survey to assess changes in bias awareness and confidence in applying weight-neutral principles in care interactions.
UNASSIGNED: Analysis of pre- and post-survey results showed significant improvements in provider awareness of bias as well as changes in implicit bias scores and confidence providing weight-neutral care.
UNASSIGNED: Educating providers about weight contributes to equity of care for patients of higher weights. Formal education such as workshops have the potential to reduce the harms of weight stigma in health care as changing attitudes and confidence are a precursor to behavior change. Research is needed to assess ideal education modalities and whether receiving care from weight bias-prepared providers affects patient outcomes and experiences.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about weight stigma in sexual minority women, and even less is known about weight stigma in those who have attained substantial weight loss and maintenance.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined weight stigma experiences and internalization in sexual minority women from the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) who had lost ≥30 pounds and maintained this weight loss for ≥1 year, and compared weight stigma levels between sexual minority women versus heterosexual women in the NWCR.
METHODS: NWCR participants completed an electronic survey. Women who identified as a sexual minority (n = 64; 98% White; MBMI = 29 ± 8; Mage = 47 ± 13) and heterosexual women matched on body mass index (BMI), age, and race (n = 64; 98% White; MBMI = 28 ± 7; Mage = 51 ± 13) were included. Participants completed assessments of experienced and internalized weight stigma.
RESULTS: Generalized linear models showed that a significantly larger proportion of sexual minority women in the NWCR reported experiencing weight stigma in the past year (24.2%) compared with heterosexual women (4.7%; p < .05). Furthermore, sexual minority (vs. heterosexual) women reported significantly higher levels of internalized weight stigma (p < .001), and a greater proportion of sexual minority women (35%) reported clinically significant internalized weight stigma relative to heterosexual women (2%; p < .001).
CONCLUSIONS: Sexual minority women are at greater risk for experienced and internalized weight stigma than their heterosexual counterparts among women who have attained significant long-term weight loss. It is critical to expand research on weight stigma in sexual minority women.
This study examined weight stigma experiences and internalization in sexual minority women who attained substantial weight loss and maintenance, compared with heterosexual women of similar body mass index (BMI), race, and age, in a sample of adults from the National Weight Control Registry. Results showed that 24% of sexual minority women reported experiencing weight stigma in the past year and 35% reported clinically meaningful internalized weight stigma, levels that were higher than those of heterosexual women of similar BMI, age, and race in the sample. These data suggest that sexual minority women who have attained major weight loss may be at greater risk for weight stigma than heterosexual women with similar weight losses.

Weight-related discussions during childhood may have long-lasting effects on children\'s body image and well-being. However, little is known about how parents frame these discussions with children who have undergone treatment for obesity. Our study aimed to explore how parents perceive weight-related discussions, several years after their children started obesity treatment. This qualitative study is part of the 4-year follow-up of the More and Less study, a randomized controlled trial examining the effectiveness of a parental support program as part of obesity treatment for preschool-aged children in Stockholm, Sweden. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 parents (79% mothers, 48% with a university degree, 47% with foreign background) of 33 children (mean age 9.3 years (SD 0.7), 46% girls), transcribed and analyzed using realist informed thematic analysis. Three main themes, encompassing three subthemes were developed. Under the first theme, Parental attitudes and concerns, parents emphasized the importance of discussing weight and health behaviors with their children, yet found it challenging due to uncertainties about how to approach it safely and sensitively. A few parents found the conversation manageable, citing their own experiences of having overweight or their style of communication with the child as facilitating the conversation. Under the second theme, The significance of time and context, parents said they engaged in weight-related conversations with their children more frequently as the children matured, driven by their growing self-awareness. Parents also expressed how contextual factors, such as gender and the presence of others, shaped conversations. Parents perceived boys as more resilient, thus exposing them to more negative weight talk. The third theme, Navigating weight stigma, revealed how parents employed strategies such as nurturing their children\'s self-confidence, downplaying the significance of appearance and emphasizing health when discussing weight to shield their children from weight stigma. Taken together, we found that many parents need support to navigate weight-related discussions. Addressing weight stigma is part of children\'s obesity management process, as children may be bullied, teased, or experience discrimination in different social settings. More research is needed to explore how young children undergoing obesity treatment experience weight stigma and to understand gendered differences in these experiences.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to analyze reactions to tweets that employed weight-based discrimination terms and to compare them to others posted by the same users on X (formerly Twitter).
METHODS: We collected tweets featuring weight-based discrimination terms (the study group) and created a control group by randomly selecting up to five tweets from each account that did not mention any such terms. Descriptive statistics, sentiment analysis, and logistic regression modeling were used to compare the numbers of likes and retweets of the study and control groups, and to understand the emotions associated with these tweets.
RESULTS: Our analysis included 22,075 study group tweets and 50,341 control group tweets. Sentiment analysis was conducted on 41,403 (57.2%) tweets, with 65.7% of the study group tweets being found to contain negative sentiments. The study group had a higher median of likes (1 [0-4]) and retweets (0 [0-0]) than the control group (1 [0-2] and 0 [0-0], respectively, with the study group obtaining higher mean ranks in both comparisons, P < 0.001). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that tweets using weight-based discrimination terms gained more likes (OR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.16-1.28) and retweets (OR = 1.61; 95% CI: 1.49-1.74), independent of, for example, verification status, follower count, year and season of the tweet, and emotional expression of the tweet.
CONCLUSIONS: Tweets concerning fatphobia, body shaming, and similar terms gain more reactions than others posted by the same accounts.

BACKGROUND: The current study examined whether weight perception or age moderated associations between time spent on image-based social media and weight bias internalization (WBI).
METHODS: Data come from the baseline visit of the Tracking Our Lives Study, a randomized control trial of college women (n = 200). Participants completed questionnaires assessing time spent on social media (continuous, overall and individual platforms Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat), WBI (continuous), weight perception (perceive their weight as \"overweight\" vs. do not perceive their weight as \"overweight\"), age (continuous, 18-49 years), and confounders (race/ethnicity, parent education, sexual orientation, and BMI). Adjusted zero-inflated Poisson regressions were performed to determine if weight perception and age moderated associations between time spent on image-based social media and WBI.
RESULTS: As expected, we found a positive association between overall time spent on image-based social media and WBI (β = 0.826, p < 0.001). In moderation analyses, the strength of the association was weakened among women who perceived their weight as \"overweight\" (β=-0.018, p = 0.006). Associations also weakened with age (β=-0.001, p < 0.001). The association between time spent on Instagram and WBI was also weakened with age (β=-0.014, p = 0.018), which was the only significant moderation found for individual social media platforms.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that image-based social media use is more strongly associated with increases in WBI among younger women.
There is research reporting that college women who spend an increased amount of time on image-based social media apply more negative-based weight stereotypes to oneself, leading to weight-based self-degradation. This is known as weight bias internalization. However, there may be things that make social media more or less harmful for college women. The goal of this study was to see if a woman’s age or their perception of their weight changed the relationship between the amount of time spent on image-based social media and weight bias internalization. Data come from 200 college women who completed questionnaires to determine time spent on social media, their level of weight bias internalization, how they perceived their weight, age, and other demographics. Results showed that women who perceive their weight as “overweight” had a weaker association between time spent on all image-based social media and weight bias internalization, as did older women. Our results suggest that younger women may be more susceptible to influences on social media that increase their weight bias internalization. These results can be used to identify those who may benefit from interventions aimed at reducing weight bias internalization and prevent later health consequences as a result of having more weight bias internalization.

Mental health concerns are common among college students, especially students with higher body mass index (BMI). Weight bias internalization (WBI) is thought to contribute to these mental health disparities. However, little is known about how WBI differs among more diverse students, and to what extent WBI may explain associations between BMI and health in college populations. This study compared rates of WBI in Freshman college students (N = 1289) across gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation, and assessed whether WBI mediated associations between BMI and mental health (depression, self-esteem, stress, loneliness) and behavioral health (disordered eating, physical activity, gym use). Black students and men demonstrated reduced WBI while bisexual women showed increased WBI. Further, WBI mediated the association of BMI with mental health and disordered eating, but not physical activity. These findings suggest that stigma may account for mental health disparities among higher-BMI students, and that minoritized groups are disproportionately impacted.

UNASSIGNED: Negative body image and adverse body self-evaluation represent key psychological constructs within the realm of weight bias (WB), potentially intertwined with the negative self-evaluation characteristic of depressive symptomatology. Although WB encapsulates an implicit form of self-critical assessment, its exploration among people with mood disorders (MD) has been under-investigated. Our primary goal is to comprehensively assess both explicit and implicit WB, seeking to reveal specific dimensions that could interconnect with the symptoms of MDs.
UNASSIGNED: A cohort comprising 25 MD patients and 35 demographically matched healthy peers (with 83% female representation) participated in a series of tasks designed to evaluate the congruence between various computer-generated body representations and a spectrum of descriptive adjectives. Our analysis delved into multiple facets of body image evaluation, scrutinizing the associations between different body sizes and emotionally charged adjectives (e.g., active, apple-shaped, attractive).
UNASSIGNED: No discernible differences emerged concerning body dissatisfaction or the correspondence of different body sizes with varying adjectives. Interestingly, MD patients exhibited a markedly higher tendency to overestimate their body weight (p = 0.011). Explicit WB did not show significant variance between the two groups, but MD participants demonstrated a notable implicit WB within a specific weight rating task for BMI between 18.5 and 25 kg/m2 (p = 0.012).
UNASSIGNED: Despite the striking similarities in the assessment of participants\' body weight, our investigation revealed an implicit WB among individuals grappling with MD. This bias potentially assumes a role in fostering self-directed negative evaluations, shedding light on a previously unexplored facet of the interplay between WB and mood disorders.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate weight bias within young children\'s pro-social choices between characters who differed in body size.
METHODS: Seventy-six children aged 4-6 years read stories asking them to choose who they would first help, share with, comfort, and steal from, between a healthy weight and child with overweight. They also selected the one character they would most like to play with. Children\'s reasoning for these choices was recorded and analysed.
RESULTS: The character with overweight was helped first in only a third of the choices made. Children chose the characters with overweight more often as the target for anti-social action. In friendship selections, children overwhelmingly rejected the characters with overweight. However, weight bias was not prominent in the reasons children gave for the choices. Most children were not negative about body shape, weight or appearance. Similarly, in friendship choices, these were mostly expressed positively to the character chosen. Only a small minority of children were explicitly negative about the character with overweight.
CONCLUSIONS: A better understanding of weight bias acquisition and variation between children will benefit those working in health care and educational settings. Future research should link with developmental theory, such as on social categorization and theory of mind.