Correlates of Weight Bias in Adults From the NutriNet-Sante Study

Introduction: Explicit weight bias is an underlying cause of weight stigma, but its associations with individual characteristics are not well known. This study aimed to assess explicit weight bias in French adults and to explore the associations with weight status and sociodemographic characteristics.Methods: Adults from the NutriNet-Sante ⠁ cross-sectional study (France, 2020, n=33,948, 52% women after weighting procedures) completed the Anti-Fat Attitudes Questionnaire assessing three dimensions: Dislike (antipathy toward people with obesity), Fear of fat (concerns about body weight), and Willpower (belief in weight controllability). Associations with weight status and socio-demographic characteristics were examined using multivariable ANCOVA models in 2022.Results: Fear of fat and Willpower scores were higher than Dislike scores (mean [SD]=4.0 [2.0], 3.3 [1.7] and 1.9 [1.3], respectively). Fear of fat was higher among women, whereas Dislike and Willpower were higher among men (all p<0.0001). Obesity was associated with greater Fear of fat scores (p<0.0001, mean difference versus normal-weight participants [95% CI]=0.35 [0.24, 0.46] in women, 0.36 [0.17, 0.56] in men), lower Dislike scores (-0.38 [-0.45, -0.32] in women, -0.43 [-0.56, -0.30] in men), and lower Willpower scores (-1.00 [-0.18, -0.90] in women, -0.40 [-0.57, -0.23] in men). In both genders, lower income was associated with lower Dislike, Fear of fat, and Willpower scores (all p<0.0001), and lower education was associated with greater Fear of fat and Willpower scores (all p<0.0001).Conclusions: Explicit weight bias was driven by the fear of gaining weight and the belief in weight controllability. This study provides new insights into which population subgroups should be tar-geted by interventions aimed at reducing explicit weight bias.Am J Prev Med 2023;65(2):201-212. & COPY; 2023 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study aimed to assess explicit weight bias in French adults and explore the associations with weight status and sociodemographic characteristics. The results showed that fear of fat and belief in weight controllability were higher than dislike towards people with obesity. Fear of fat was higher among women, whereas dislike and belief in weight controllability were higher among men. Obesity was associated with greater fear of fat and lower dislike and belief in weight controllability. Lower income and lower education were associated with lower scores of dislike, fear of fat, and belief in weight controllability. This study provides valuable insights for interventions targeting the reduction of explicit weight bias.