. 2022 Feb 22;10(1):28.

doi: 10.1186/s40337-022-00552-7.

The mediation effect of perceived weight stigma in association between weight status and eating disturbances among university students: is there any gender difference?

Kamolthip Ruckwongpatr¹, Mohsen Saffari^{2

3}, Xavier C C Fung⁴, Kerry S O'Brien⁵, Yen-Ling Chang⁶, Yi-Ching Lin⁷, Chung-Ying Lin^{8

9

10

11}, Jung-Sheng Chen¹², Janet D Latner¹³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 1 University Rd, Tainan, 701401, Taiwan.
² Health Research Center, Life Style Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ Health Education Department, Faculty of Health, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
⁵ School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁶ Department of Family Medicine, Cardinal Tien Hospital, New Taipei, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Early Childhood and Family Education, National Taipei University of Education, No.134, Sec. 2, Heping E. Rd., Da-an District, Taipei City, 106, Taiwan. ylin11@mail.ntue.edu.tw.
⁸ Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 1 University Rd, Tainan, 701401, Taiwan. cylin36933@gmail.com.
⁹ Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701401, Taiwan. cylin36933@gmail.com.
¹⁰ Biostatistics Consulting Center, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701401, Taiwan. cylin36933@gmail.com.
¹¹ Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701401, Taiwan. cylin36933@gmail.com.
¹² Department of Medical Research, E-Da Hospital, No. 6, Yida Rd., Yanchao Dist., Kaohsiung, 82445, Taiwan. ed113187@edah.org.tw.
¹³ Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.

PMID: 35193673
PMCID: PMC8864835
DOI: 10.1186/s40337-022-00552-7

The mediation effect of perceived weight stigma in association between weight status and eating disturbances among university students: is there any gender difference?

Kamolthip Ruckwongpatr et al. J Eat Disord. 2022.

. 2022 Feb 22;10(1):28.

doi: 10.1186/s40337-022-00552-7.

Authors

Kamolthip Ruckwongpatr¹, Mohsen Saffari^{2

3}, Xavier C C Fung⁴, Kerry S O'Brien⁵, Yen-Ling Chang⁶, Yi-Ching Lin⁷, Chung-Ying Lin^{8

9

10

11}, Jung-Sheng Chen¹², Janet D Latner¹³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 1 University Rd, Tainan, 701401, Taiwan.
² Health Research Center, Life Style Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ Health Education Department, Faculty of Health, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
⁵ School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁶ Department of Family Medicine, Cardinal Tien Hospital, New Taipei, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Early Childhood and Family Education, National Taipei University of Education, No.134, Sec. 2, Heping E. Rd., Da-an District, Taipei City, 106, Taiwan. ylin11@mail.ntue.edu.tw.
⁸ Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 1 University Rd, Tainan, 701401, Taiwan. cylin36933@gmail.com.
⁹ Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701401, Taiwan. cylin36933@gmail.com.
¹⁰ Biostatistics Consulting Center, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701401, Taiwan. cylin36933@gmail.com.
¹¹ Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701401, Taiwan. cylin36933@gmail.com.
¹² Department of Medical Research, E-Da Hospital, No. 6, Yida Rd., Yanchao Dist., Kaohsiung, 82445, Taiwan. ed113187@edah.org.tw.
¹³ Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.

PMID: 35193673
PMCID: PMC8864835
DOI: 10.1186/s40337-022-00552-7

Erratum in

Correction: The mediation effect of perceived weight stigma in association between weight status and eating disturbances among university students: is there any gender difference?
Ruckwongpatr K, Saffari M, Fung XCC, O'Brien KS, Chang YL, Lin YC, Lin CY, Chen JS, Latner JD. Ruckwongpatr K, et al. J Eat Disord. 2023 Jul 17;11(1):120. doi: 10.1186/s40337-023-00842-8. J Eat Disord. 2023. PMID: 37461100 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Background: The study aimed to examine the association between perceived weight stigma (PWS), weight status, and eating disturbances. We hypothesized that PWS would partially mediate the association between weight status and eating disturbances among university students.

Methods: The study involved 705 undergraduate students (379 females and 326 males) recruited from Hong Kong and Taiwan Universities (399 Hong Kong; 306 Taiwan participants). Our sample was from one Hong Kong university (located in Kowloon) and five Taiwan universities (three located in Southern Taiwan, one located in Central Taiwan, and one located in North Taiwan). Participants' mean age was 20.27 years (SD = 1.79). All participants completed a demographic information sheet, the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-18 (TFEQ-R18), and the PWS questionnaire. PROCESS macro models were used to analyze potential mediations.

Results: We found a significantly higher PWS scores in a high weight group for females and males. There was a significant difference between weight status and eating disturbances. Moreover, PWS partially mediated the association between weight status and eating disturbances for both genders.

Conclusions: PWS is associated with weight status and eating disturbances, making it an important target for health improvement among young adults. Further studies are needed to corroborate such associations in participants from other societies and cultures.

Keywords: Asian; Eating behaviors; Stigma; Weight control; Young adults.

Plain language summary

Perceived weight stigma, weight status (e.g., low weight, average weight, and high weight) and eating disturbances have been found to have associations between each other. However, such research is needed among Asians, and the present study examined a mediation mechanism among the three factors (i.e., perceived weight stigma, weight status, and eating disturbances). Using data from 705 university students across two regions (Hong Kong and Taiwan), the present study revealed that weight status might be associated with perceived weight stigma, and perceived weight stigma might be associated with eating disturbances. Such findings were consistent across male and female university students. The present study’s findings underscore the importance of perceived weight stigma. Reducing perceived weight stigma may be an important strategy in developing health eating behaviors among university students.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest or competing interests to disclose.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Hypotheses mediation model for weight status, PWS, and eating disturbances

**Fig. 2**
Mediation model for weight status, PWS, and eating disturbances in females

**Fig. 3**
Mediation model for weight status, PWS, and eating disturbances in males

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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The mediation effect of perceived weight stigma in association between weight status and eating disturbances among university students: is there any gender difference?

Affiliations

The mediation effect of perceived weight stigma in association between weight status and eating disturbances among university students: is there any gender difference?

Authors

Affiliations

Erratum in

Abstract

Plain language summary

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources