Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Apr;45(3):423-7.
doi: 10.1002/eat.20933. Epub 2011 Jun 29.

Internalized weight bias in obese patients with binge eating disorder: associations with eating disturbances and psychological functioning

Laura E Durso  1 , Janet D Latner, Marney A White, Robin M Masheb, Kerstin K Blomquist, Peter T Morgan, Carlos M Grilo
Affiliations

Internalized weight bias in obese patients with binge eating disorder: associations with eating disturbances and psychological functioning

Laura E Durso et al. Int J Eat Disord. 2012 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: Widespread bias against obese individuals may lead to the internalization of weight bias in obese persons. This study examined correlates of internalized weight bias (IWB) in obese patients with binge eating disorder (BED).

Method: One hundred treatment-seeking obese patients with BED were administered with the eating disorders examination interview and questionnaires assessing IWB, fat phobia, depression, and self-esteem.

Results: The mean IWB score in this group of patients with BED was significantly greater than the mean IWB score observed previously in a community sample of overweight adults. IWB was positively associated with eating disorder psychopathology, fat phobia, and depression, and negatively associated with self-esteem. IWB made significant independent contributions to the variance in eating disorder psychopathology even after accounting for fat phobia, depression, and self-esteem.

Discussion: Treatment-seeking obese patients with BED demonstrate high levels of IWB. IWB may contribute to the variance in eating disorder psychopathology in BED patients, beyond the contributions of fat phobia, depression, and self-esteem.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Biomedical Support Disclosures: The authors report no commercial or biomedical industry support or conflicts of interest. No additional funding was received for the completion of this work.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Puhl RM, Heuer CA. The stigma of obesity: A review and update. Obesity. 2009;17:941–964. - PubMed
    1. Crocker J, Cornwell B, Major B. The stigma of overweight: Affective consequences of attributional ambiguity. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1993;64:60–70. - PubMed
    1. Friedman KE, Reichmann SK, Costanzo PR, Zelli A, Ashmore JA, Musante GJ. Weight stigmatization and ideological beliefs: Relation to psychological functioning in obese adults. Obes Res. 2005;13:907–916. - PubMed
    1. Myers A, Rosen JC. Obesity stigmatization and coping: relation to mental health symptoms, body image, and self-esteem. Int J Obes. 1999;23:221–230. - PubMed
    1. Matthews KA, Salomon K, Kenyon K, Zhou F. Unfair treatment, discrimination, and ambulatory blood pressure in black and white adolescents. Health Psychol. 2005;24:258–265. - PubMed

Publication types