Summary:
In women living with obesity, exposure to a weight stigmatising experimental paradigm significantly increased plasma cortisol, systolic blood pressure, self-reported stress and hunger, and decreased peptide YY and reported fullness compared to those exposed to a non-weight stigmatising paradigm, though it was associated with no statistically significant differences between groups due to limited sample size.
| PICO | Description |
|---|---|
| Population | Adult women living with obesity (n=18; mean BMI = 45.8 kg/m2; mean age 43.2 years) recruited for a randomised feasibility trial. |
| Intervention | Exposure to a 15-minute weight stigmatising paradigm designed to induce acute psychological stress related to weight stigma. |
| Comparison | Exposure to a 15-minute non-weight stigmatising paradigm serving as control condition. |
| Outcome | Preliminary efficacy data showed increases in plasma cortisol (+26.7 pg/mL), systolic blood pressure (+12.7 mmHg), stress (+17.4 mm), hunger (+16.8 mm), and desire to eat (+20.9 mm), and reductions in peptide YY (−11.8 pg/mL) and fullness (−13.9 mm). However, no statistically significant differences were found between intervention and control groups due to small sample size. The study confirmed the feasibility of recruitment, randomisation, and physiological measurement. |
Source: Adrian Brown, et al. “A Randomised Feasibility Study Assessing Acute Physiological Responses to Weight Stigma in Women Living With Obesity.” Read article here.
