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These findings support the hypothesis that in comparison to Caucasian girls, African American girls may be at lessened risk for developing eating disorders but may be at greater risk for developing obesity. This conclusion is based upon the findings of higher levels of eating disorder symptoms among Caucasian girls and the relative absence of significant correlations between dieting and body shape and appearance concerns among African American girls.

Weight-based stigmatization is a prevalent problem that can result in disordered eating, especially if weight bias internalization is also present. Emotion dysregulation is correlated with disordered eating as well, and it is not known whether emotion dysregulation may worsen disordered eating in those who experience weight stigmatization. The current study aimed to fill this gap in the literature with 2 hypotheses: that those who report emotion dysregulation and have experienced weight stigma would display disordered eating, and that those who also had internalized weight bias would have even more severe disordered eating. One hundred four students completed surveys enquiring about their weight stigmatization experiences, emotion regulation, weight bias internalization, and disordered eating behaviors. Multiple regression analyses supported the influence of stigmatization, emotion dysregulation, and internalization on disordered eating, and the interaction of weight stigmatization and emotion dysregulation. These results indicate the importance of considering emotion dysregulation in the weight-based stigmatization literature.

The findings support that weight and exercise frequency affect eating disorder symptoms and body image disturbance. Males appear to exhibit body image disturbance, which is related to their current weight status. Results support the call for further development of measures that more adequately address male concerns.