A deeper look at implicit weight bias in medical students

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Medical Education
• Social Cognition

Background:

• Implicit weight bias is a concern in healthcare.
• Previous studies using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) found average pro-thin/anti-fat attitudes in medical students.
• The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) offers a more nuanced assessment of implicit attitudes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure implicit weight bias in first- and third-year medical students using IRAP.
• To analyze implicit attitudes towards thin and fat individuals separately.
• To examine changes in implicit weight bias during the first two years of medical training.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) to assess implicit weight bias.
• Compared first- and third-year medical students' implicit attitudes.
• Analyzed implicit attitudes towards thin and fat/obese individuals distinctly.

Main Results:

• Medical students exhibited both pro-thin and pro-fat implicit attitudes, with a stronger pro-thin bias on average.
• Implicit weight bias against fat/obese individuals improved over the first two years of medical training.
• Attitudes towards thin individuals remained constant, while attitudes towards overweight and obese individuals improved.

Conclusions:

• IRAP provides a more detailed understanding of implicit weight bias compared to IAT.
• Medical education appears to reduce implicit bias against overweight and obese individuals.
• Findings have implications for developing medical curricula to address implicit weight bias.