Weight stigma is associated with poorer mental and emotional health among sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals.
This is according to a study – “Weight Stigma and Mental and Emotional Health Among Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals: A Scoping Review” by Sarah I. Leonard, Yashika Sharma, Tonda L. Hughes, Kasey B. Jackman, and Jean-Marie Bruzzese – that appeared in LGBT Health.
Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews, the researchers searched PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus in April 2022. Included studies examined the relationship between weight stigma and mental and emotional health among SGM people of any age. Of 513 records identified, 23 met inclusion criteria. Most focused on sexual minority individuals; one focused specifically on gender minority individuals.
Some of the key findings included:
- Weight stigma was associated with poorer mental and emotional health in nearly all studies.
- The most common outcomes examined were self-esteem, maladaptive eating, and depressive symptoms.
- Five studies, all using the same dataset, focused on adolescents; none focused on older adults.
In a gist, “weight stigma is associated with poorer mental and emotional health among SGM individuals.” Sadly, because of its intersections with minority stress, this “might impact SGM individuals differently than their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts.”
As such, according to the researchers, there is a need to better understand “important gaps regarding weight stigma’s effect on SGM adolescents and gender minority individuals and its relationship with a broader range of mental and emotional health outcomes.”
