Associations of Weight Bias with Disordered Eating Among Latino and White Men.

Abstract

This study examined associations of different aspects of weight bias, which can include negative attitudes toward and beliefs about obesity, with eating/weight-related psychopathology. Participants (N = 544) were White (n = 376) and Latino (n = 168) men living in the United States who completed an online battery of established measures of weight bias (both attitudes toward and beliefs about obesity) and eating/weight-related psychopathology. Among White men, negative attitudes toward obesity were associated significantly with dietary restraint, overvaluation of weight/shape, and body dissatisfaction, whereas among Latino men, negative attitudes toward obesity were associated significantly with overvaluation of weight/shape. Among White men, less negative attitudes toward people with obesity were associated with decreased use of compensatory behaviors, and weaker beliefs about the controllabilty of obesity were associated with decreased overeating and binge eating. Among Latino men, neither attitudes about people with obesity nor beliefs about the controllability of obesity were associated with eating-disordered behaviors. Weight bias was related to eating/weight-related psychopathology in men, with fewer associations observed among Latino men than White men. This highlights that associations with psychopathology may vary by ethnicity. Future research is needed to clarify the mechanism by which weight-biased attitudes and beliefs are associated with eating/weight-related psychopathology and why this might differ between White and Latino men.