Associations among self-compassion, weight bias internalization, and self-reported psychological and physical health.

Abstract

Weight bias internalization, or turning negative beliefs and attitudes regarding higher weight individuals in on oneself, is associated with poor physical health. This may occur because weight bias internalization promotes poor psychological well-being, which in turn has been shown to negatively impact physical health. Self-compassion has been shown to reduce weight bias internalization and improve psychological health; however, whether these effects extend to physical health is unknown. Nevertheless, if selfcompassion reduces weight bias internalization, which in turn impacts psychological health and subsequently physical health, then self-compassion may be associated with better physical health through the mechanisms of low weight bias internalization and favorable psychological health. In a crosssectional study, 231 weight-diverse undergraduate participants (body mass index [BMI], M = 25.43, SD = 5.51) completed self-reports of the variables of interest. High self-compassion was associated with low weight bias internalization and better self-reported psychological health (i.e., low emotional role limitations), which was ultimately associated with better self-reported physical health (low physical role limitations, high general physical health scores). These relationships occurred when controlling for gender (female, male) and BMI. These findings extend the previously demonstrated associations of selfcompassion, weight bias internalization, and psychological health to the realm of self-reported physical health in a weight-diverse population. Testing this model in longitudinal or experimental designs and in race-, gender-, and age-diverse populations is recommended.