Background: Weight stigma and bias are present in education, employment, and health care institutions, and have increased in recent years. College students in pre-health majors have been documented to hold weight biases, and interventions to mitigate these beliefs have had varying results. Objectives: This study's purpose was to assess the impact…

To address widespread weight stigma across the physical activity landscape, scholars have emphasized the need to provide exercise professionals with educational programs that help them (a) identify their biases, (b) reflect on their assumptions about higher-weight individuals, and (c) apply tangible strategies to enhance the inclusivity of fitness…

Comprehensive school health (CSH) is a framework that can support teachers in the delivery of health-related content as well as supporting health promotion within the school community. In this study, 222 Bachelor of Education students completed surveys at the beginning and end of a mandatory six-week course on CSH with a body weight-neutral focus.…

Weight discrimination, the maltreatment of individuals perceived to have larger sized bodies driven by both implicit and explicit biases about weight, is a growing issue in society with deleterious effects for individuals of size (Andreyeva et al., 2008; Hatzenbuehler et al., 2009; Puhl & King, 2013; Swift et al., 2013; Tomiyama, 2014).…

Background: Given the body image and disordered eating struggles prevalent in young adults, weight-inclusive anti-diet programs are needed on college campuses. Such programs replace weight loss advice with changes that center physical and mental well-being. Methods/Program Design: University health and wellness programs such as University Coaching…

Teachers view overt expressions of weight stigma, such as weight-related teasing, as troublesome but are often ill-prepared to address instances of weight-related teasing when they arise in the classroom. Comprehensive school health is an emerging framework that aims to better prepare teachers to address issues of health and wellness in the…

Although Erikson (1968) originally conceptualized identity development as a process of becoming at home in one's body, little work has been done linking identity development and research on the body. This study examines how trajectories of the development of body esteem over time are related to young people's sense of identity and psychological…

Studies indicate that both preservice and in-service teachers find it difficult to connect to their role as health promoters within a school context. There is also evidence that those teachers most often responsible for delivering health education (i.e., physical education teachers) are at an increased risk for body dissatisfaction, dieting, and…

Awareness of effective weight management strategies is necessary to prepare exercise science students for future work with obesity. Exercise science faculty members developed a course related to exercise as a therapeutic tool and options available for weight loss. The purpose of the present study was to investigate student views of weight…

Background: Fast food establishments are available on many college campuses and, as a result, many students consume foods that are high in calories and contribute to unhealthy weight gain. Purpose: This study measured college students' knowledge of the calorie content for fast food items and whether the provision of calorie information for those…

Background: Due to the high prevalence of obesity, individuals may be desensitized to weight as a personal health concern. Purpose: To evaluate changes in obesity awareness associated with a statewide public education campaign in Colorado. Methods: Cross-sectional random digit dial telephone surveys (n = 1,107 pre, n = 1101 post) were conducted…

Background: More than one third of college students are either overweight or obese, making college campuses an ideal setting to target at risk behaviors while tailoring programs to the evolving lifestyle of college students. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a 15-week, campus-based lifestyle modification program on…

In this article, I employ a structural symbolic interaction framework to examine the processes by which persons can exit a stigmatized identity. Using the empirical example of weight loss, I analyze how individuals evolve from an identity as "fat" and stigmatized to one that is "normal" with respect to weight and free from identification with…

Objective: Small-scale pilot testing of supplementing a required college health-related fitness course with a cognitive-behavioral exercise-support protocol (The Coach Approach). Participants: Three classes were randomly assigned to Usual processes (n = 32), Coach Approach-supplemented: Mid-size Groups (n = 32), and Coach Approach-supplemented:…

The aim of study was to investigate student opinion and attitude toward physical education classes. Two thousand seven hundred (2700) students answered the survey: 1239 (45.3%) were male students and 1497 (54.7%) were female from Kuwait six districts: Al_Hawalli, Al_Asimah, Al_Jahra, Al_Mobarak, Al_Farwniah, Al_Ahmadi. Weight Status was determined…