Associations Between Weight Discrimination and Metabolic Health: Analysis of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (Cardia) Study

Background: Concurrent with the recent rise in overweight and obesity, weight discrimination levels have also increased. Individuals who have experienced weight discrimination report higher levels of stress, depression, lack of diet control, and depletion of the self-control needed for weight management. What remains unclear, is the extent to which metabolic health may also be affected. Methods: To address this, a secondary data analysis was performed on 1365 participants from year 25 of the Coronary Artery Disease in Young Adults (CARDIA) study who were living with overweight and obesity. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were performed on the presence of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and abdominal obesity (and their associated measures) for their perception of the weight discrimination they experienced (none, low stress, or high stress). Results: In all cases, prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and abdominal obesity was higher among those reporting low and high stress weight discrimination compared to those with no history of weight discrimination. In the adjusted analyses, weight discrimination was associated with a 65% greater likelihood for having metabolic syndrome, 85% greater likelihood of diabetes, and between 2.5- and 3.9-times greater likelihood of abdominal obesity for low and high stress experiences, respectively. Conclusion: Exposure to weight discrimination may worsen metabolic health, as characterized by higher rates of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and abdominal obesity. These associations may be amplified with higher levels of stress experienced from weight discrimination. Further longitudinal work is necessary to understand the temporal sequence, time lag, and any possible critical periods for weight bias internalization on metabolic health.