Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 8, 2025

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

27.3K

First do no harm: Measuring weight bias beliefs in preschool-age children

Jennifer A Harriger1, Janet P Trammell1

  • 1Pepperdine University, USA.

Body Image
|December 31, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Participating in studies about weight bias does not appear to negatively affect young children's own beliefs about body size. Research shows no significant changes in weight beliefs after participation, indicating safety for child participants.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychology
  • Social Psychology

Background:

  • Investigating weight bias development in young children is crucial.
  • Limited research exists on the impact of research participation on children's weight beliefs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess if participating in research on body size beliefs alters young children's weight beliefs.
  • To determine potential risks associated with children's involvement in weight bias research.

Main Methods:

  • Eighty children (ages 3-5) completed tasks measuring weight bias and body size perception at two time points, two weeks apart.
  • Responses at Time 2 were compared to a control group that completed measures only once.
  • Analysis focused on changes in beliefs from Time 1 to Time 2 and differences with the control group.

Main Results:

  • Consistent with prior research, older children and girls reported greater weight bias.
  • No significant changes in children's weight beliefs were observed between the two time points.
  • No significant differences were found between children who participated twice and those who participated once.

Conclusions:

  • Participation in research measuring weight bias beliefs does not appear to negatively impact young children's own weight beliefs.
  • Current findings suggest that research involving young children and weight bias assessment is likely safe and does not pose undue risks.
  • Further research can proceed with confidence in the minimal impact of participation on study outcomes.

More Related Videos

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults08:25

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults

Published on: October 19, 2014

15.4K
The Modified Temptation Resistance Task: A Paradigm to Elicit Children's Strategic Lie-telling06:51

The Modified Temptation Resistance Task: A Paradigm to Elicit Children's Strategic Lie-telling

Published on: April 6, 2018

8.6K

Related Concept Videos

Weighted Mean00:57

Weighted Mean

While taking the arithmetic, geometric, or harmonic mean of a sample data set, equal importance is assigned to all the data points. However, all the values may not always be equally important in some data sets. An intrinsic bias might make it more important to give more weightage to specific values over others.
For example, consider the number of goals scored in the matches of a tournament. While computing the average number of goals scored in the tournament, it may be more important to...
5.6K
Regression Toward the Mean01:52

Regression Toward the Mean

Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood pressure at a particular moment—appear closer to a group’s average upon remeasuring. Although this statistical peculiarity is the result of random error and chance, it has been problematic across various medical, scientific, financial and psychological applications. In particular, RTM, if not taken into account, can interfere when...
6.5K
Self-Regulation01:25

Self-Regulation

Self-regulation, also known as self-control, encompasses a range of cognitive and behavioral processes that allow individuals to adjust their internal states and outward actions to align with socially acceptable norms and long-term goals. It plays a fundamental role in adaptive functioning, from resisting impulsive behaviors to persisting through challenging tasks. While its benefits are widely recognized, self-regulation is not limitless. Muraven and Baumeister's theory posits that...
20
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination02:55

Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who...
92.2K
Bias01:22

Bias

Bias refers to any tendency that prevents a question from being considered unprejudiced. In research, bias occurs when one outcome or answer is selected or encouraged over others in sampling or testing. Bias can occur during any research phase, including study design, data collection, analysis, and publication.
In statistics, a sampling bias is created when a sample is collected from a population, and some members of the population are not as likely to be chosen as others (remember, each member...
5.9K
Variation in Acceleration due to Gravity near the Earth's Surface01:20

Variation in Acceleration due to Gravity near the Earth's Surface

An object's apparent weight is its weight measured by a spring balance at its location. It is different from its true weight, the force with which the Earth pulls it, because of the Earth's rotation. Mathematically, an object's apparent weight equals its true weight minus the centripetal force that keeps it in a circular motion along with the Earth's surface every 24 hours.
The difference between the true and apparent weights is proportional to the square of the Earth's...
2.5K