Frequency and Correlates of Weight-Based Discrimination among Adolescents in China

Unfair treatment on the basis of body weight is common in the West and associated with lower well-being, starting at least as early as adolescence. We examine whether the frequency and predictors and correlates of weight discrimination seen in the West extend to adolescents in China.

Participants (N = 1539) were adolescents in China who took part in a longitudinal study of mental health and academic burnout in high school. At Wave 1, participants reported on their personality and well-being and completed a school health check that included measured height and weight. At Wave 2 approximately 6 months later, participants reported on experiences with unfair treatment and completed the same measures of well-being.

Of 10 attributions for unfair treatment, weight was most common at 18%. Female gender and body mass index were associated with greater risk of reporting weight discrimination. Emotional stability, conscientiousness, and state happiness measured at Wave 1 were associated with lower risk of weight discrimination at Wave 2. Concurrently, weight discrimination was associated with lower happiness, less life satisfaction, and more distress.

Adolescents in China report weight discrimination, and the patterns of association between weight discrimination and psychological function are similar to what is seen in the West.