Weight bias among dietetics students: implications for treatment practices

Area of Science:

• Nutrition and Dietetics
• Psychology of Health
• Medical Education

Background:

• Existing research on food and nutrition professionals' attitudes toward obesity shows mixed results.
• No prior experimental studies have assessed the impact of dietitians' attitudes on their patient treatment or health evaluations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate dietetics students' attitudes toward obese individuals.
• To determine if a patient's body weight influences students' treatment decisions and health evaluations in a randomized experiment.

Main Methods:

• 182 undergraduate dietetics students completed online surveys assessing weight bias.
• Participants were randomly assigned to read mock patient profiles varying in weight and sex.
• Students made judgments about patient health status and treatment adherence.

Main Results:

• Students reported moderate "fat phobia" and perceived obese patients as less compliant with treatment.
• Obese patients were evaluated as having poorer diet quality and health status, despite identical information.
• Perceptions of patient motivation, receptiveness, and success in treatment were similar across weight groups.

Conclusions:

• Findings indicate significant weight bias among future dietitians.
• There is a need to integrate awareness of weight bias into dietetics curricula.
• Educational interventions are recommended to mitigate negative attitudes and improve patient care.