Weight loss content on TikTok and antifat attitudes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3658104 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ilyssa Salomon (0000-0002-1998-5415, Elon University, corresponding author), Courtney Abruzzo (Monmouth University), Samantha Pensiero (Elon University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-17 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Gender Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0958-9236 • E-ISSN: 1465-3869 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09589236.2025.2552810 |
| OpenAlex | W4413989451 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 55 |
The present study explored the relationships between consumption of weight loss content on TikTok, internalized weight stigma (i.e. negative attitudes towards the self), and antifat attitudes (i.e. negative attitudes towards others). It was hypothesized that internalized weight stigma would mediate the relationship between consumption of weight loss content on TikTok and antifat attitudes, controlling for gender and race. Participants included a sample of college students (n = 316; Mage = 18.77, SDage = 0.94) and a sample of adults recruited through an online survey platform (n = 240; Mage = 29.38 (SDage = 5.71)). Overall, participants primarily identified as cisgender woman (65.5%) or men (32.2%) and as white (66.7%), Black/African American (16%), or Hispanic/Latino (15.5%). Participants completed an online survey and answered questions about their social media use and feelings about themselves and others. The results indicated support for the primary hypothesis, controlling for demographic characteristics and daily screen time, internalized weight stigma mediated the association between consumption of weight loss content on TikTok and antifat attitudes. Given that people in larger bodies face frequent and widespread discrimination for their size, these results shed light on how social media content may contribute to the formation and reinforcement of antifat attitudes
Obesity · Weight loss · Chemistry · Eating Disorders and Behaviors · Mathematics · Medicine · Obesity and Health Practices · Pharmacology and Obesity Treatment · Psychology · Food Science · Internal Medicine
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The association between weight stigma and mental health
Social media, body image, and the question of causation
Highly-visual social media and internalizing symptoms in adolescence
Measuring internalized weight attitudes across body weight categories
Understanding Self‐directed Stigma
Perceptions of weight discrimination
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Malefitspo
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The pursuit of wellness
Prejudice against fat people
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Implicit and explicit anti-fat bias
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |