ArticleBMC public health2023
Weight bias internalization and beliefs about the causes of obesity among the Canadian public.
Article in BMC public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Longitudinal Study Exploring the Influence of Weight Bias Internalization and Weight-Based Discrimination on Pathological Eating After Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.Obesity surgery · 2026Article
- Attitudes, stigma and knowledge on obesity in Mexico: a national cross-sectional survey of the general population and healthcare professionals living with or without obesity.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2026Article
- Mapping weight stigma in food-based dietary guidelines across thirteen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: a qualitative analysis.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2026Article
- Obesity-Related Beliefs, Concerns, and Stigmatizing Perceptions Among Adults Living With Obesity.Obesity science & practice · 2026Article
- Social Support and Emotional Eating in Adults with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease: The Chain Mediation Effects of Weight Self-Stigma and Depression.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2026Article
- Awareness of obesity's causes is not linked to less Weight-Related bias.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Weight discrimination and eating disorder symptoms in early adolescence: a prospective cohort study.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Assessing weight bias among Turkish dietitians: determinants and impact on professional practice.BMC medical education · 2025Observational
- Motivational Interviewing (MI) in Obesity Care: Cultivating Person-Centered and Supportive Clinical Conversations to Reduce Stigma: A Narrative Review.Obesity science & practice · 2025Review
- Self-consciousness negatively mediates the positive association between internalized weight bias and weight status in cross-cultural survey and brain imaging study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Early versus late-onset of weight struggles among patients with obesity: Data from the ACTION-IO study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
- Factors Associated with the Health-Related Self-Care Capacity of Overweight and Obese People.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Presentation of a weight bias internalization tool for use in pregnancy and a call for future research: A commentary.Obesity pillars · 2024Article
- Patient perceptions about obesity management in the context of concomitant care for other chronic diseases.Obesity pillars · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExplicit weight bias is known as negative attitudes and beliefs toward individuals due to their weight status and can be perpetuated through misconceptions about the causes of obesity. Individuals may also experience weight bias internalization (WBI) when they internalize negative weight-related attitudes and self-stigmatize. There is a paucity of research on the beliefs about the causes of obesity and the prevalence of WBI among public Canadian samples. The aim of this study was to describe these attitudes and beliefs about obesity among a large Canadian sample across the weight spectrum.
methodsA Canadian sample of adults (N = 942; 51% Women; mean age group = 45-54 years; mean body mass index [BMI] = 27.3 ± 6.7 kg/m
resultsMean WBI score within the entire sample was 3.38 ± 1.58, and females had higher mean scores as compared to males (p < 0.001). Mean scores were also higher among individuals with a BMI of > 30 kg/m
conclusionsWeight bias internalization is prevalent among Canadians across all body weight statuses, and the public endorses behavioural causes of obesity, namely physical inactivity and overeating, more than its other causes. Findings warrant the reinforcement of efforts aimed at mitigating weight bias by educating the public about the complexity of obesity and by highlighting weight bias as a systemic issue that affects all Canadians living in diverse body weight statuses.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.