Weight status or weight stigma? Obesity stereotypes—Not excess weight—Reduce working memory in school-aged children

Guardabassi, Veronica; Tomasetto, Carlo

doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104706

Cited by 18 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…In a separate analysis of 176 children (average age, 9.7 years), a decreasing working memory was associated with increasing body weight when there was a threat of experiencing weight-based stereotypes ( i.e., that obesity is associated with lower intelligence). 43 Together, these studies highlight the negative impact of weight stigma on physical health and executive function.…”

Section: Consequences Of Pediatric Weight Stigmamentioning

confidence: 97%

“…A robust and growing body of evidence supports a connection between stigmatization of children and adolescents with obesity and detrimental short-and long-term psychological and emotional effects affecting both individuals and their parents or caregivers that include psychosocial impairment, decreased executive function, reduced healthrelated quality of life, unhealthy weight control behaviors, and impaired weight management (Table 1). 3,4,6,8,20,[43][44][45] Studies have demonstrated that these negative effects can occur regardless of the source of stigma, which can include family, peers, educators health care providers, the media, and strangers. 3,4,9,20 In a prospective longitudinal study of 5128 middle school children, approximately one-third reported at least one incident of perceived weight-based peer discrimination.…”

Section: Psychosocial Consequences Of Weight Stigmamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increased risk for unhealthy weight control behaviors and binge eating 3,4 Psychosocial impairment (depression, poor self-esteem, loneliness, and social anxiety) 3,4,45 Parent and caregiver distress 20 Additional weight gain 8 Inability to maintain weight loss 44 Reduced health-related quality of life 6 Decrease in working memory 43…”

Section: Table 1 Consequences Of Stigmatizing Obesity In Childhood Amentioning

confidence: 99%

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Complexity and Stigma of Pediatric Obesity

et al. 2021

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Weight stigma is rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of the origins of obesity, wherein the interplay of behavioral, environmental, genetic, and metabolic factors is deemphasized. Instead, the widespread societal and cultural presence of weight stigma fosters misconceptions of obesity being solely a result of unhealthy personal choices. Weight stigma is pervasive in childhood and adolescence and can affect individuals throughout their life. Although the prevalence of pediatric obesity remains high throughout the world, it becomes increasingly important to understand how weight stigma affects weight and health outcomes in children and adolescents with overweight or obesity, including in those with rare genetic diseases of obesity. We identified and reviewed recent literature (primarily published since 2000) on weight stigma in the pediatric setting. Articles were identified with search terms including pediatric obesity, weight bias, weight stigma, weight-based teasing and bullying, and weight bias in health care. In this narrative review, we discuss the stigma of pediatric obesity as it relates to the complex etiology of obesity as well as describe best practices for avoiding bias and perpetuating stigma in the health care setting.

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Section: Consequences Of Pediatric Weight Stigmamentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Psychosocial Consequences Of Weight Stigmamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Table 1 Consequences Of Stigmatizing Obesity In Childhood Amentioning

confidence: 99%

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Complexity and Stigma of Pediatric Obesity

et al. 2021

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“…Finally, discrimination is another established social determinant of physical health–with emerging support that it is also cognitively taxing. Weight stigma may not only be obesity‐promoting via its association with psychological stress and cortisol secretion, 64 it may also be responsible, in part, for the cognitive deficits observed in persons with obesity 65 . Future studies need to disentangle the unique contributions of obesity as a biological state from the physiological and psychological threats invoked by socioeconomic factors and discrimination to determine their relative contributions to cognitive function.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Baseline associations between biomarkers, cognitive function, and self‐regulation indices in the Cognitive and Self‐regulatory Mechanisms of Obesity Study

Hawkins

Keirns

Baraldi

et al. 2021

Obesity Science & Practice

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Objective Understanding how biological, cognitive, and self‐regulatory factors are related to obesity, and weight regulation is clearly needed to optimize obesity prevention and treatment. The objective of this investigation was to understand how baseline biological, cognitive, and self‐regulatory factors are related to adiposity at the initiation of a behavioral weight loss intervention among treatment‐seeking adults with overweight/obesity. Methods Participants (N = 107) in the Cognitive and Self‐regulatory Mechanisms of Obesity Study (Identifier‐NCT02786238) completed a baseline assessment with anthropometric, cardiometabolic, inflammatory, cognitive function, and self‐regulation measures as part of a larger on‐going trial. Data were analyzed with linear regression. Results At baseline, body mass index, body fat percentage, and waist circumference (WC) were positively associated with fasting insulin and insulin resistance. Higher WC was related to higher fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Higher glucose and insulin resistance levels were related to lower list sorting working memory. Higher glucose and HbA1c levels were negatively associated with reading scores. Cognitive function and self‐regulation indices were unrelated. Conclusions In adults with overweight/obesity entering a weight loss treatment study: (1) elevated WC and associated glycemic impairment were negatively associated with cognition, (2) poorer executive function and reading abilities were associated with poorer glycemic control, and (3) objectively measured cognitive functions were unrelated to self‐reported/behavioral measures of self‐regulation. Such findings increase understanding of the relationships between adiposity, biomarkers, cognition, and self‐regulation at treatment initiation and may ultimately inform barriers to successful obesity treatment response.

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“…While tempting to consider that biological sex differences explain these findings, social context would suggest that the experience of weight stigma (discussed in Section 5.2), which is higher in women than men [72] may be a contributing factor. Recent data on school-age children (n = 176) suggests that weight-related stereotype threat (fear of confirming a negative stereotype) may explain working memory deficits more so than excess body weight [73].…”

Section: Food Addiction Neuroscience and Social Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Addiction and Psychosocial Adversity: Biological Embedding, Contextual Factors, and Public Health Implications

2020

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The role of stress, trauma, and adversity particularly early in life has been identified as a contributing factor in both drug and food addictions. While links between traumatic stress and substance use disorders are well documented, the pathways to food addiction and obesity are less established. This review focuses on psychosocial and neurobiological factors that may increase risk for addiction-like behaviors and ultimately increase BMI over the lifespan. Early childhood and adolescent adversity can induce long-lasting alterations in the glucocorticoid and dopamine systems that lead to increased addiction vulnerability later in life. Allostatic load, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and emerging data on epigenetics in the context of biological embedding are highlighted. A conceptual model for food addiction is proposed, which integrates data on the biological embedding of adversity as well as upstream psychological, social, and environmental factors. Dietary restraint as a feature of disordered eating is discussed as an important contextual factor related to food addiction. Discussion of various public health and policy considerations are based on the concept that improved knowledge of biopsychosocial mechanisms contributing to food addiction may decrease stigma associated with obesity and disordered eating behavior.

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Weight status or weight stigma? Obesity stereotypes—Not excess weight—Reduce working memory in school-aged children

Cited by 18 publications

References 47 publications

Complexity and Stigma of Pediatric Obesity

Complexity and Stigma of Pediatric Obesity

Baseline associations between biomarkers, cognitive function, and self‐regulation indices in the Cognitive and Self‐regulatory Mechanisms of Obesity Study

Food Addiction and Psychosocial Adversity: Biological Embedding, Contextual Factors, and Public Health Implications

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