Examining the impact of perceived weight discrimination on reported eating and exercise among White and Latino/a adults

Abstract

A large body of research suggests that, among White individuals, perceived weight discrimination has deleterious consequences for eating and exercise outcomes; however, the research literature on perceived weight discrimination among other racial/ethnic groups is limited. The primary goal of the present study was to examine the associations of perceived weight discrimination with eating and exercise thoughts and behaviors among White versus Latino/a participants. A sample of White (N = 50) and Latino/a (N = 281) undergraduate college students with higher body weight (BMI: M = 30.65, SD = 5.42) completed self-report measures assessing perceived weight-based discrimination, frequency of intake of unhealthy and healthy foods, and frequency of both thoughts about exercise and exercise behaviors; we examined relationships among these variables within White versus Latino/a participants. Results showed that perceived weight discrimination was associated with more frequent intake of unhealthy foods, more frequent exercise thoughts, and less frequent exercise behaviors among White participants, and that there were no significant associations between perceived weight discrimination and the eating and exercise measures of interest among Latino/a participants. These findings highlight a number of potential avenues for future research to identify the mechanisms underlying these differential associations of perceived weight discrimination to eating and exercise behaviors across racial/ethnic groups.

Keywords: Eating; Ethnicity; Exercise; Race; Weight discrimination.