Effect of Weight Self-Stigma on Quality of Life and Dietary Habits among Adult Students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Weight self-stigma (WSS) is a personal experience of negative self-evaluations, perceived discrimination, and shame about body weight. Studies suggested that WSS could negatively affect quality of life, eating behavior, and psychological outcomes. WSS has been linked with a number of obesogenic heal...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-06-01
|
| Series: | Healthcare |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/12/1754 |
| _version_ | 1797594617971998720 |
|---|---|
| author | Alanoud Aladel Badeeah Dakhakhni Yara Almuhtadi Azzah Alsheweir Sadeem Aljammaz |
| author_facet | Alanoud Aladel Badeeah Dakhakhni Yara Almuhtadi Azzah Alsheweir Sadeem Aljammaz |
| author_sort | Alanoud Aladel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Weight self-stigma (WSS) is a personal experience of negative self-evaluations, perceived discrimination, and shame about body weight. Studies suggested that WSS could negatively affect quality of life, eating behavior, and psychological outcomes. WSS has been linked with a number of obesogenic health outcomes that complicate weight loss interventions. Thus, this study aimed to examine the effect of WSS on the quality of life and dietary habits among adult students. A sample of 385 students from Riyadh universities participated in this cross-sectional study and completed three online questionnaires: the WSS questionnaire, the WHO quality of life questionnaire, and a dietary habit questionnaire. The average age of participants was 24 ± 6.74, and the majority were female (78.4%). Results demonstrated a negative association between all QOL domains and WSS (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Moreover, higher BMI is associated with increased self-devaluation and fear of enacted stigma (<i>p</i> < 0.001). There was also a negative link between both quality and quantity of food with WSS (<i>p</i> < 0.01). No significant difference was seen in study outcomes concerning gender. The findings of this study suggest the importance of increasing awareness about the negative impact of WSS and developing social policies to prevent or decrease it. Additionally, multidisciplinary teams, especially dietitians, should be more aware of WSS when dealing with overweight and obese individuals. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:24:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dd7a631aa908452386355e18f2c5eb83 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:24:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-dd7a631aa908452386355e18f2c5eb832023-11-18T10:38:39ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322023-06-011112175410.3390/healthcare11121754Effect of Weight Self-Stigma on Quality of Life and Dietary Habits among Adult Students in Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaAlanoud Aladel0Badeeah Dakhakhni1Yara Almuhtadi2Azzah Alsheweir3Sadeem Aljammaz4Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaCommunity Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaCommunity Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaCommunity Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaCommunity Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaWeight self-stigma (WSS) is a personal experience of negative self-evaluations, perceived discrimination, and shame about body weight. Studies suggested that WSS could negatively affect quality of life, eating behavior, and psychological outcomes. WSS has been linked with a number of obesogenic health outcomes that complicate weight loss interventions. Thus, this study aimed to examine the effect of WSS on the quality of life and dietary habits among adult students. A sample of 385 students from Riyadh universities participated in this cross-sectional study and completed three online questionnaires: the WSS questionnaire, the WHO quality of life questionnaire, and a dietary habit questionnaire. The average age of participants was 24 ± 6.74, and the majority were female (78.4%). Results demonstrated a negative association between all QOL domains and WSS (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Moreover, higher BMI is associated with increased self-devaluation and fear of enacted stigma (<i>p</i> < 0.001). There was also a negative link between both quality and quantity of food with WSS (<i>p</i> < 0.01). No significant difference was seen in study outcomes concerning gender. The findings of this study suggest the importance of increasing awareness about the negative impact of WSS and developing social policies to prevent or decrease it. Additionally, multidisciplinary teams, especially dietitians, should be more aware of WSS when dealing with overweight and obese individuals.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/12/1754weight self-stigmaWSSquality of lifeQOLdietary habitsadult students |
| spellingShingle | Alanoud Aladel Badeeah Dakhakhni Yara Almuhtadi Azzah Alsheweir Sadeem Aljammaz Effect of Weight Self-Stigma on Quality of Life and Dietary Habits among Adult Students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Healthcare weight self-stigma WSS quality of life QOL dietary habits adult students |
| title | Effect of Weight Self-Stigma on Quality of Life and Dietary Habits among Adult Students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| title_full | Effect of Weight Self-Stigma on Quality of Life and Dietary Habits among Adult Students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Weight Self-Stigma on Quality of Life and Dietary Habits among Adult Students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Weight Self-Stigma on Quality of Life and Dietary Habits among Adult Students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| title_short | Effect of Weight Self-Stigma on Quality of Life and Dietary Habits among Adult Students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| title_sort | effect of weight self stigma on quality of life and dietary habits among adult students in riyadh saudi arabia |
| topic | weight self-stigma WSS quality of life QOL dietary habits adult students |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/12/1754 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alanoudaladel effectofweightselfstigmaonqualityoflifeanddietaryhabitsamongadultstudentsinriyadhsaudiarabia AT badeeahdakhakhni effectofweightselfstigmaonqualityoflifeanddietaryhabitsamongadultstudentsinriyadhsaudiarabia AT yaraalmuhtadi effectofweightselfstigmaonqualityoflifeanddietaryhabitsamongadultstudentsinriyadhsaudiarabia AT azzahalsheweir effectofweightselfstigmaonqualityoflifeanddietaryhabitsamongadultstudentsinriyadhsaudiarabia AT sadeemaljammaz effectofweightselfstigmaonqualityoflifeanddietaryhabitsamongadultstudentsinriyadhsaudiarabia |