Examining the effects of a weight stigma induction on psychological stress and exercise outcomes
Abstract
Weight stigma is highly prevalent as a motivational tool in exercise contexts. However, weight stigma experienced in this domain may contribute to lowered exercise engagement, particularly among higher-weight women. This thesis examined the effects of a weight stigma induction on psychological stress, intentions to exercise (ITE), and exercise behaviours. Higher-weight women (N = 170, Mage = 57.2) were randomly assigned to read a fictional news article (weight-stigmatizing vs neutral condition), and completed acute measures of psychological stress, ITE, and exercise behaviours 7-days later. Participants who were exposed to the stigmatizing content reported a significant increase in stress and lower acute ITE, compared to the control condition. There was no impact of study condition on self-reported exercise behaviours at follow-up. Further, stress did not mediate the relationships between study condition and exercise outcomes. This study extends the current research that weight stigma is harmful and contributes to health behaviour disengagement.