The role of weight stigma in parental weight talk.

Abstract

Many parents engage in "weight talk" with their child, such as encouraging their child to lose weight or making comments about their own weight or others' weight. What parents say to their children about weight can affect children's well-being, yet little is known about parental characteristics that may be at play regarding this common practice. This study examined the role of weight stigma in parental weight talk, and whether internalized weight bias mediates the relationship between parents' experiences of weight stigma and weight-based conversations and comments. A sample of 453 parents (Mage =35.07) with children 2 to 17years old (Mage =8.76) completed surveys measuring parental experiences with weight stigma, weight bias internalization, and frequency of different types of parental weight talk. Mediations were tested via the PROCESS macro. Independent of controls (parent BMI, child BMI percentile, parent and child sex, parent and child age, race, income, and education), experienced weight stigma was indirectly associated with greater frequency of weight-based conversations (β=.08) and comments about oneself (β=.08) and others (β=.04) via parents' internalized weight bias. These findings offer novel insights for understanding parental weight talk and can inform pediatric providers working with families on weight-related issues.