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Published on: July 29, 2020
Association between multiple discrimination experiences and disordered eating behavior among Brazilian university
Gabriela Pacheco Carniel1, Mariane da Silva Dias1, Angela Lautert Monteiro1
1Postgraduate Program in Food, Nutrition and Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 2400 Ramiro Barcelos Street, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Journal of Eating Disorders
|June 2, 2026
Summary
Discrimination, especially weight-based, is linked to disordered eating in Brazilian university students. Understanding how multiple forms of discrimination intersect is key to addressing this vulnerability.
Area of Science:
- Psychosocial impacts of discrimination
- Eating disorder research
- Public health in higher education
Background:
- Emerging evidence links discrimination to disordered eating via psychosocial pathways.
- This study investigated multiple discrimination forms and disordered eating among students in southern Brazil.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the association between various forms of perceived discrimination and disordered eating behaviors.
- To explore the role of weight-based discrimination and intersectional discrimination.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 1,502 undergraduate students in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
- Eating behaviors assessed using the Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire (food approach and avoidance scores).
- Perceived discrimination (weight, race, gender, sexual orientation) analyzed individually and intersectionally using linear regression.
Main Results:
- Highest food approach scores linked to discrimination based on weight combined with sexual orientation, gender, or race.
- Food avoidance positively associated with discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender.
- Negative associations for food avoidance found with weight-based discrimination (alone or with gender/sexual orientation).
Conclusions:
- Perceived discrimination is distinctly associated with disordered eating behaviors, with weight discrimination being central.
- An intersectional approach is crucial for understanding how overlapping discrimination forms increase vulnerability to disordered eating.
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