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Multidisciplinary Approach to Obesity Management: A Case Report
Published on: May 30, 2025
Weight-based stigmatization, psychological distress, & binge eating behavior among obese treatment-seeking adults
Jamile A Ashmore1, Kelli E Friedman, Simona K Reichmann
1The Cooper Aerobics Center, Dallas, TX 75230, United States. jashmore@cooperaerobics.com
Objective:
To evaluate the associations between weight-based stigmatization, psychological distress, and binge eating behavior in a treatment-seeking obese sample.
Methods:
Ninety-three obese adults completed three questionnaires: 1) Stigmatizing Situations Inventory, 2) Brief Symptoms Inventory, and 3) Binge Eating Questionnaire. Correlational analyses were used to evaluate the association between stigmatizing experiences, psychological distress and binge eating behavior.
Results:
Stigmatizing experiences predicted both binge eating behavior (R(2)=.20, p<.001) and overall psychological distress (R(2)=.18, p<.001). A substantial amount of the variance in binge eating predicted by weight-based stigmatization was due to the effect of psychological distress. Specifically, of the 20% of the variance in binge eating accounted for by stigmatizing experiences, between 7% and 34% (p<.01) was due to the effects of various indicators of psychological distress.
Conclusions:
These data suggest that weight-based stigmatization predicts binge eating behavior and that psychological distress associated with stigmatizing experiences may be an important mediating factor.
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