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. 2017 Mar 7;7(3):e014592.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014592.

Association between perceived weight discrimination and physical activity: a population-based study among English middle-aged and older adults

Sarah E Jackson  1 , Andrew Steptoe  1
Affiliations

Association between perceived weight discrimination and physical activity: a population-based study among English middle-aged and older adults

Sarah E Jackson et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between perceived weight discrimination and physical activity in a large population-based sample.

Design: Data were from 2423 men and 3057 women aged ≥50 years participating in Wave 5 (2010/11) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Participants reported experiences of weight discrimination in everyday life and frequency of light, moderate and vigorous physical activities. We used logistic regression to test associations between perceived weight discrimination and physical activity, controlling for age, sex, socioeconomic status and body mass index (BMI).

Results: Perceived weight discrimination was associated with almost 60% higher odds of being inactive (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.40, p=.028) and 30% lower odds of engaging in moderate or vigorous activity at least once a week (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.94, p=.017).

Conclusions: Independent of BMI, individuals who perceive unfair treatment on the basis of their weight are less physically active than those who do not perceive discrimination. This has important implications for the health and well-being of individuals who experience weight-based discrimination, and may also contribute to a cycle of weight gain and further mistreatment.

Keywords: physical activity; population studies; stigma; weight-related discrimination.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Level of physical activity in individuals reporting experiences of weight discrimination (n=268) and individuals reporting no weight discrimination (n=5212) in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, adjusted for age, sex, SES and BMI. BMI, body mass index; SES, socioeconomic status.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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