Body shaming and internalized weight bias as potential precursors of eating disorders in adolescents

• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1356647
• Publication Date: 2024-02-06T04:59:01Z
• Authors: Silvia Cerolini; Mariacarolina Vacca; Anna Zegretti; Andrea Zagaria; Caterina Lombardo
• Keywords: Shame; Weight stigma

Introduction Body shaming (BS) is a growing phenomenon within the school context, especially among adolescents. Recently, it has been described as an unrepeated act in which person expresses unsolicited, mostly negative comments about individual’s body. The targeted perceives these negative, offensive or body shame-inducing. Empirical evidence also suggests that weight most common reason youths are teased and bullied. Indeed, stigma, bias discriminatory behaviors, attitudes, feelings, thinking individuals, because of their weight, can lead to weight-based discrimination victimization. Preliminary BS stigma have effects on psychological health both short long term. In delicate stage adolescence development pubertal maturation, experiences be highly prevalent adverse outcomes such eating disorders (ED). However, prevalence data Italian context still lacking. Methods study aims estimate weight-related perceived by different sources (i.e., peers family members) associations with public internalized bias, mass index (BMI), dissatisfaction, ED symptoms. A sample 919 high students ( M age = 15.97, SD 1.58; 57.1% boys) completed battery self-report questionnaires assessing variables. Results One four reported members. total 37% having at least one experience lifetime. Higher scores symptoms, were adolescents who experienced BS, females. Among overweight participants, results showed partially mediated relationship between members symptoms fully after controlling for age, sex BMI. Discussion These findings, despite cross-sectional nature, add important contribution creation quantitative empirical BS. Its role explaining disorders, alone mediation first proved needs confirmed longitudinal results.