TY - JOUR
T1 - Born Fat
T2 - The Relations Between Weight Changeability Beliefs and Health Behaviors and Physical Health
AU - Parent, Mike C.
AU - Alquist, Jessica L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.
PY - 2015/6
Y1 - 2015/6
N2 - Although some popular press and nonscholarly sources have claimed that weight is largely unchangeable, the relationship between this belief and objective measures of health remains unclear. We tested the hypothesis that people who believe weight is unchangeable will have poorer objective and subjective health, and fewer exercise behaviors and poorer eating habits, than people who believe weight is changeable. Participants were 4,166 men and 4,655 women enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the 2007 to 2010 iterations. Believing that weight was uncontrollable was negatively related to exercise and healthful dietary practices and positively related to unhealthful eating. Lack of exercise and unhealthful eating were, in turn, associated with poor physical health. Age, but not gender, moderated the relationships between belief in weight changeability and exercise behaviors, healthful eating, and unhealthful eating. This study suggests that believing weight is unchangeable is associated with poor health behaviors and poorer physical health.
AB - Although some popular press and nonscholarly sources have claimed that weight is largely unchangeable, the relationship between this belief and objective measures of health remains unclear. We tested the hypothesis that people who believe weight is unchangeable will have poorer objective and subjective health, and fewer exercise behaviors and poorer eating habits, than people who believe weight is changeable. Participants were 4,166 men and 4,655 women enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the 2007 to 2010 iterations. Believing that weight was uncontrollable was negatively related to exercise and healthful dietary practices and positively related to unhealthful eating. Lack of exercise and unhealthful eating were, in turn, associated with poor physical health. Age, but not gender, moderated the relationships between belief in weight changeability and exercise behaviors, healthful eating, and unhealthful eating. This study suggests that believing weight is unchangeable is associated with poor health behaviors and poorer physical health.
KW - body weight
KW - eating
KW - exercise
KW - health behavior
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84967076129&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1090198115602266
DO - 10.1177/1090198115602266
M3 - Article
C2 - 26351266
AN - SCOPUS:84967076129
SN - 1090-1981
VL - 43
SP - 337
EP - 346
JO - Health Education and Behavior
JF - Health Education and Behavior
IS - 3
ER -