PURPOSE: Anti-obesity prejudices affect the quality of care obese individuals receive. The authors sought to determine the prevalence of weight-related biases among medical students and whether they were aware of their biases. METHOD: Between 2008 and 2011, the authors asked all third-year medical students at Wake Forest School of Medicine to complete the Weight Implicit Association Test (IAT), a validated measure of implicit preferences for "fat" or "thin" individuals. Students also answered a semantic differential item assessing their explicit weight-related preferences. The authors determined students' awareness of their biases by examining the correlation between students' explicit preferences and their IAT scores. RESULTS: Of 354 medical students, 310 (88%) completed valid surveys and consented to participate. Overall, 33% (101/310) self-reported a significant ("moderate" or "strong") explicit anti-fat bias. No students self-reported a significant explicit anti-thin bias. According to the IAT scores, over half of students had a significant implicit weight bias: 39% (121/310) had an anti-fat bias and 17% (52/310) an anti-thin bias. Two-thirds of students (67%, 81/121) were unaware of their implicit anti-fat bias. Only male gender predicted an explicit anti-fat bias (odds ratio 3.0, 95% confidence interval 1.8-5.3). No demographic factors were associated with an implicit anti-fat bias. Students' explicit and implicit biases were not correlated (Pearson r = 0.03, P = .58). CONCLUSIONS: Over one-third of medical students had a significant implicit anti-fat bias; few were aware of that bias. Accordingly, medical schools' obesity curricula should address weight-related biases and their potential impact on care.
PURPOSE: Anti-obesity prejudices affect the quality of care obese individuals receive. The authors sought to determine the prevalence of weight-related biases among medical students and whether they were aware of their biases. METHOD: Between 2008 and 2011, the authors asked all third-year medical students at Wake Forest School of Medicine to complete the Weight Implicit Association Test (IAT), a validated measure of implicit preferences for "fat" or "thin" individuals. Students also answered a semantic differential item assessing their explicit weight-related preferences. The authors determined students' awareness of their biases by examining the correlation between students' explicit preferences and their IAT scores. RESULTS: Of 354 medical students, 310 (88%) completed valid surveys and consented to participate. Overall, 33% (101/310) self-reported a significant ("moderate" or "strong") explicit anti-fat bias. No students self-reported a significant explicit anti-thin bias. According to the IAT scores, over half of students had a significant implicit weight bias: 39% (121/310) had an anti-fat bias and 17% (52/310) an anti-thin bias. Two-thirds of students (67%, 81/121) were unaware of their implicit anti-fat bias. Only male gender predicted an explicit anti-fat bias (odds ratio 3.0, 95% confidence interval 1.8-5.3). No demographic factors were associated with an implicit anti-fat bias. Students' explicit and implicit biases were not correlated (Pearson r = 0.03, P = .58). CONCLUSIONS: Over one-third of medical students had a significant implicit anti-fat bias; few were aware of that bias. Accordingly, medical schools' obesity curricula should address weight-related biases and their potential impact on care.
Authors: Mary Margaret Huizinga; Sara N Bleich; Mary Catherine Beach; Jeanne M Clark; Lisa A Cooper Journal: Obesity (Silver Spring) Date: 2010-02-25 Impact factor: 5.002
Authors: Bethany A Teachman; Kathrine D Gapinski; Kelly D Brownell; Melissa Rawlins; Subathra Jeyaram Journal: Health Psychol Date: 2003-01 Impact factor: 4.267
Authors: Sean M Phelan; Rebecca M Puhl; Sara E Burke; Rachel Hardeman; John F Dovidio; David B Nelson; Julia Przedworski; Diana J Burgess; Sylvia Perry; Mark W Yeazel; Michelle van Ryn Journal: Med Educ Date: 2015-10 Impact factor: 6.251