Prevalence and Correlates of Weight Stigma among Postpartum Women in China

Mei Sun (), Jiayuan Peng and Lisa Lommel
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Mei Sun: Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha 410017, China
Jiayuan Peng: Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha 410017, China
Lisa Lommel: School of Nursing, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-12

Abstract: Weight stigma is linked to a variety of psychological and health problems. In the postpartum period, women may be more likely to experience weight-based discrimination because of their changing social roles, weight, and the new functions their bodies fulfill. However, few studies have explored the issue of postpartum women’s weight stigma. Thus, to investigate the prevalence and correlates of weight stigma for postpartum women in China, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 507 postpartum women. Results showed that almost one quarter (21.1%) of postpartum women claimed to have experienced perceived weight stigma (PWS). Two thirds (66.1%) scored at the mean and 14.8% at the highest levels of weight bias internalization (WBI). During the postnatal period, the conditions of those most likely to report experiences of weight-based discrimination included low income [b = −0.203, p = 0.004], occupation as a worker [b = 0.921, p = 0.017] or farmer [b = 0.826, p = 0.033], stress [b = 0.044, p = 0.035], depression [b = 0.057, p = 0.021], and higher WBIS [b = 0.018, p = 0.002]. In addition, postpartum women who lived alone [ b = 7.511, p = 0.048], were overweight or obese [ b = 5.443, p = 0.000], and had higher PWS [ b = 0.897, p = 0.004] and anxiety symptoms [ b = 0.219, p = 0.011] had higher levels of internalized weight stigma. Findings from this study provide a foundation to better understand characteristics of postpartum women in China who are at risk for weight stigma.

Keywords: postpartum women; weight stigma; psychological distress; perceived weight stigma; internalized weight stigma (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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