Weight bias: relationships with physical activity and sedentary behaviour

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Behavioral Science
• Obesity Research

Background:

• Most Canadian adults do not meet physical activity guidelines or adhere to recommendations for reducing sedentary behavior.
• Weight bias experiences are recognized as potential barriers to physical activity and enablers of sedentary behaviors.
• Limited research has explored the association between endorsing or internalizing weight bias and specific health behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between weight bias internalization and explicit weight bias with physical activity and sedentary behaviors among Canadian adults.
• To determine if weight bias is associated with deviations from recommended physical activity and sedentary behavior guidelines.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of data from 891 Canadian adults (mean age 45-54 years, mean BMI 27.04 kg/m²).
• Validated questionnaires were used: International Physical Activity Questionnaire, Sedentary Behaviour Questionnaire, Modified Weight Bias Internalization Scale, and Anti-Fat Attitudes Questionnaire.
• Linear regression models were employed to assess associations between weight bias measures and health behaviors.

Main Results:

• Weight bias internalization significantly predicted higher weekly hours of sedentary behavior (R² = 0.09).
• Explicit weight bias (Anti-Fat Attitudes) predicted more weekly minutes of vigorous physical activity (adjusted R² = 0.03).
• No significant associations were found between weight bias internalization and physical activity levels, or between explicit weight bias and sedentary behavior or lower-intensity physical activity.

Conclusions:

• Specific dimensions of weight bias appear related to health behaviors, notably sedentary behavior and vigorous physical activity.
• Findings underscore the need for further research into the multifaceted relationship between weight bias and health behaviors.
• Future studies should incorporate longitudinal designs and interventions to elucidate the impact of weight bias on health behaviors.