Weight stigma predicts inhibitory control and food selection in response to the salience of weight discrimination

Abstract

ObjectiveFear and stigmatization are often used to motivate individuals with higher body weight to engage in healthy behaviors, but these strategies are sometimes counterproductive, leading to undesirable outcomes. In the present study, the impact of weight-based stigma on cognition (i.e., inhibitory control) and food selection (i.e., calories selected) was examined among individuals who consider themselves to be overweight. It was predicted that participants higher in perceived weight stigma would perform more poorly on an inhibitory control task and order more calories on a food selection task when they read about discrimination against individuals with higher weight versus discrimination against an out-group. MethodsParticipants completed online prescreen measures assessing whether they considered themselves to be overweight and their perceptions of weight stigma. Individuals who considered themselves to be overweight were invited into the laboratory to complete tasks that manipulated weight-based discrimination, then inhibitory control and food selection were measured. ResultsThe higher participants were in perceived weight stigma, the more poorly they performed on the inhibitory control task and the more calories they ordered when they read about discrimination against individuals with higher body weight. These relationships were not observed when participants read about discrimination against an out-group. ConclusionsThe present findings provide evidence that perceptions of weight stigma are critical in understanding the impact of weight-based discrimination. Additionally, these results have theoretical and practical implications for both understanding and addressing the psychological and physical consequences of weight-based stigma.