Weight Bias in Educational Settings: a Systematic Review

Nutter, Sarah; Ireland, Alana; Alberga, Angela S.; Brun, Isabel; Lefebvre, Danielle; Hayden, K. Alix; Russell‐Mayhew, Shelly

doi:10.1007/s13679-019-00330-8

Cited by 61 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Cross-sectional research has suggested negative neurocognitive correlates of obesity, but has not established causal influence 55 and evidence from longitudinal studies is less clear 19 . Socially mediated processes by which weight could influence educational outcomes involve weight bias by teachers 56 and bullying by peers 57 . Further work using genetic and qualitative approaches will be required to unpick these mechanisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Common health conditions in childhood and adolescence, school absence, and educational attainment: Mendelian randomization study

et al. 2021

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Good health is positively related to children’s educational outcomes, but relationships may not be causal. Demonstrating a causal influence would strongly support childhood and adolescent health as important for education policy. We applied genetic causal inference methods to assess the causal relationship of common health conditions at age 10 (primary/elementary school) and 13 (mid-secondary/mid-high school) with educational attainment at 16 and school absence at 14–16. Participants were 6113 children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Exposures were symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), depression, asthma, migraines and BMI. Genetic liability for these conditions and BMI was indexed by polygenic scores. In non-genetic, multivariate-adjusted models, all health conditions except asthma and migraines were associated with poorer attainment and greater school absence. School absence substantially mediated effects of BMI (39.9% for BMI at 13) and migraines (72.0% at 10), on attainment with more modest mediation for emotional and neurodevelopmental conditions. In genetic models, a unit increase in standardized BMI at 10 predicted a 0.19 S.D. decrease (95% CI: 0.11, 0.28) in attainment at 16, equivalent to around a 1/3 grade lower in all subjects, and 8.7% more school absence (95% CI:1.8%,16.1%). Associations were similar at 13. Genetic liability for ADHD predicted lower attainment but not more absence. Triangulation across multiple approaches supports a causal, negative influence on educational outcomes of BMI and ADHD, but not of ASD, depression, asthma or migraine. Higher BMI in childhood and adolescence may causally impair educational outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Common health conditions in childhood and adolescence, school absence, and educational attainment: Mendelian randomization study

et al. 2021

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“…Research on the extent, nature, and impact of weight stigma (also termed weight bias, obesity stigma) suggests that weight stigma has increased over time in adults [1] and children [2] and is associated with a host of negative social and health outcomes [3]. For example, research shows that women perceived to be overweight or obese encounter discrimination in education, health, and employment settings [4][5][6]. Similarly, experiences of weight stigma are associated with poorer psychological and physical outcomes arising from stigma-related stress, including increased depression and anxiety [7], emotional and stress-related eating [8], and avoidance of health care settings [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of a Food Addiction Explanation Model for Weight Control and Obesity on Weight Stigma

et al. 2020

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There is increasing scientific and public support for the notion that some foods may be addictive, and that poor weight control and obesity may, for some people, stem from having a food addiction. However, it remains unclear how a food addiction model (FAM) explanation for obesity and weight control will affect weight stigma. In two experiments (N = 530 and N = 690), we tested the effect of a food addiction explanation for obesity and weight control on weight stigma. In Experiment 1, participants who received a FAM explanation for weight control and obesity reported lower weight stigma scores (e.g., less dislike of ‘fat people’, and lower personal willpower blame) than those receiving an explanation emphasizing diet and exercise (F(4,525) = 7.675, p = 0.006; and F(4,525) = 5.393, p = 0.021, respectively). In Experiment 2, there was a significant group difference for the dislike of ‘fat people’ stigma measure (F(5,684) = 5.157, p = 0.006), but not for personal willpower weight stigma (F(5,684) = 0.217, p = 0.81). Participants receiving the diet and exercise explanation had greater dislike of ‘fat people’ than those in the FAM explanation and control group (p values < 0.05), with no difference between the FAM and control groups (p > 0.05). The FAM explanation for weight control and obesity did not increase weight stigma and resulted in lower stigma than the diet and exercise explanation that attributes obesity to personal control. The results highlight the importance of health messaging about the causes of obesity and the need for communications that do not exacerbate weight stigma.

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“…Sixth, it is possible that the school social context is insufficient to countering students' perceptions of well-documented weight biases and internalized stigma against overweight people, which can lead to eating disturbances in ways adolescents may not be fully aware of, avoidance of physical activity, and psychological distress (Puhl and Heuer 2009;Puhl, Moss-Racusin, and Schwartz 2007). Weigh biases may also contribute to student's weight through other school-related pathways we did not explore, for example, through teachers' and administrators' attitudes and behaviors (Nutter et al 2019). Seventh, poverty also influences weight through food insecurity, which is an issue that deserves more attention.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concentrated Poverty in U.S. Schools and Adolescents’ Risk of Being Overweight

et al. 2020

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The economic segregation of U.S. schools undermines the academic performance of students, particularly students from low-income families who are often concentrated in high-poverty schools. Yet it also fuels the reproduction of inequality by harming their physical health. Integrating research on school effects with social psychological and ecological theories on how local contexts shape life course outcomes, we examined a conceptual model linking school poverty and adolescent students’ weight. Applying multilevel modeling techniques to the first wave of data (1994–1995) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health; n = 18,924), the results revealed that individual students’ likelihood of being overweight increased as the concentration of students from low-income families in their schools increased, net of their own background characteristics. This linkage was connected to a key contextual factor: the exposure of students in high-poverty schools to other overweight students. This exposure may partly matter because of the lower prevalence of dieting norms in such schools, although future research should continue to examine potential mechanisms.

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Weight Bias in Educational Settings: a Systematic Review

Cited by 61 publications

References 67 publications

Common health conditions in childhood and adolescence, school absence, and educational attainment: Mendelian randomization study

Common health conditions in childhood and adolescence, school absence, and educational attainment: Mendelian randomization study

The Effect of a Food Addiction Explanation Model for Weight Control and Obesity on Weight Stigma

Concentrated Poverty in U.S. Schools and Adolescents’ Risk of Being Overweight

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