Impacts of Internalized Weight Bias and Weight Control Beliefs on Eating Behaviors in Women Losing Weight.

Objective To investigate the internalized weight bias and weight control beliefs regarding the current status,influencing factors,and impacts on eating behaviors of women losing weight. Methods A convenient sampling method was used to select the females who underwent physical examination in the Peking Union Medical College Hospital from August to December 2023.The general information questionnaire,Weight Bias Internalization Scale,Weight Control Belief Questionnaire,and Chinese version of Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire were utilized for investigation.Latent class analysis was conducted to explore the potential categories based on the characteristics of internalized weight bias and weight control beliefs.Univariate analysis and multiple-factor linear regression analysis were performed to explore influencing factors of potential categories and their effects on eating behaviors. Results A total of 518 subjects were included in this study.The internalized weight bias and weight control beliefs could be classified into three potential categories: low weight bias tolerance type(53.7%),medium weight bias persistence type(29.5%),and high weight bias overcritical type(16.8%).Logistic regression analysis showed that body mass index,unmarriage,and divorce were the influencing factors of the high weight bias overcritical type.The scores of non-control eating and emotional eating in medium weight bias persistence type and high weight bias overcritical type were higher than those in low weight bias tolerance type(all <i>P</i><0.001). Conclusions The attitudes of Chinese women towards body weight can be categorized into low weight bias tolerance type,medium weight bias persistence type,and high weight bias overcritical type.The high weight bias overcritical type is characterized by high weight bias and high personal responsibility attribution,and it is closely associated with negative eating behaviors.A high body mass index,unmarriage,and divorce are high-risk factors for developing the high weight bias overcritical type.