A Survey of Weight Stigma Among College Students
Location
Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH)
Session Format
Poster Presentation
Co-Presenters and Faculty Mentors or Advisors
Dr. Stacy Smallwood, Faculty Advisor
Abstract
The study examined the relationships between obesity stigma and body image perceptions among students at Georgia Southern University. Robust literature suggests that people with obesity are more likely to experience stigmatization than those without obesity. Negative societal opinions about body weight can have severe body image implications and reify negative weight ideologies. A cross-sectional, quantitative survey used The Fat Phobia Scale (FPS) and The Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) to observe the presence of obesity stigma and internal body-image opinions, respectively. A Pearson correlation was used to examine the relationship between FPS and BSQ scores, while t-tests and ANOVA were used to examine differences in scores by demographic groups. The data followed a normal distribution suggesting that FPS and BSQ scores were evenly distributed around the mean. The Pearson correlation showed a small positive correlation between the FPS and BSQ, r=0.123, p=
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Recommended Citation
Hallam, Ruby, "A Survey of Weight Stigma Among College Students" (2021). GS4 Student Scholars Symposium. 34.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2021/2021/34
A Survey of Weight Stigma Among College Students
Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH)
The study examined the relationships between obesity stigma and body image perceptions among students at Georgia Southern University. Robust literature suggests that people with obesity are more likely to experience stigmatization than those without obesity. Negative societal opinions about body weight can have severe body image implications and reify negative weight ideologies. A cross-sectional, quantitative survey used The Fat Phobia Scale (FPS) and The Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) to observe the presence of obesity stigma and internal body-image opinions, respectively. A Pearson correlation was used to examine the relationship between FPS and BSQ scores, while t-tests and ANOVA were used to examine differences in scores by demographic groups. The data followed a normal distribution suggesting that FPS and BSQ scores were evenly distributed around the mean. The Pearson correlation showed a small positive correlation between the FPS and BSQ, r=0.123, p=
