Understanding Weight Bias among Personal Trainers and Practical Strategies

by Robyn Whitehead, PhD, Whitney Moore, PhD, CSCS,*D, and Todd Whitehead
Personal Training Quarterly March 2022
Vol 8, Issue 4

(Not yet rated)
Login to rate this!

Share:

This article seeks to explore weight bias and provide strategies to reduce weight bias behaviors.

Read the full article


This article is available with a NSCA membership

Become a Member Login

This article originally appeared in Personal Training Quarterly (PTQ)—a quarterly publication for NSCA Members designed specifically for the personal trainer. Discover easy-to-read, research-based articles that take your training knowledge further with Nutrition, Programming, and Personal Business Development columns in each quarterly, electronic issue. Read more articles from PTQ »

Share:

References

1. Boeka, A, Prentice-Dunn, S, and Lokken, K. Psychosocial predictors of intentions to comply with bariatric surgery guidelines, Psychology, Health, and Medicine 15(2): 188-197, 2010.

2. Breckon, J. Motivational interviewing and exercise prescription. In: Lavellee, D, and Cockerill, I (Eds.), Counseling in Sport and Exercise Contexts. Leicester, England: British Psychological Society; 48-60, 2002.

3. Brown, T, and Fry, M. Helping members commit to exercise: Specific strategies to impact the climate at fitness centers. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action 2(2): 70-80, 2011.

4. Brown, T, Fry, M, and Moore, E. A motivational climate intervention and exercise-related outcomes: A longitudinal perspective. Motivation Science 3(4): 337, 2017.

5. Chambliss, H, Finley, C, and Blair, S. Attitudes toward obese individuals among exercise science students. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 36(3): 468-474, 2004.

6. Deci, E, and Ryan, R. Handbook of Self-Determination Research. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press; 2002.

7. Dimmock, J, Hallett, B, and Grove, J. Attitudes toward overweight individuals among fitness center employees: An examination of contextual effects. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 80(1): 641-647, 2009.

8. Fry, M, and Moore, E. Motivation in sport: Theory and application. In: APA Handbook of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Volume 1: Sport Psychology. American Psychological Association; 273-299, 2019.

9. Glovsky, E (ed.). Wellness, not Weight: Health at Every Size and Motivational Interviewing. San Diego, CA: Cognella Academic Publishing; 2014.

10. Greenleaf, C, Martin, S, and Rhea, D. Fighting fat: How do fat stereotypes influence beliefs about physical education? Obesity 16(2): 2008.

11. Jay, M, Kalet, A, Ark, T, McMacken, M, Messito, M, Richter, R, and Gillespie, C. Physicians’ attitudes about obesity and their associations with competency and specialty: A cross-sectional study. BMC Health Services Research 9(106): 1-11, 2009.

12. Kyle, T, and Puhl, R. Putting people first in obesity. Obesity 22(5): 1211, 2014.

13. Langdon, J, Rukavina, P, and Greenleaf, C. Predictors of obesity bias among exercise science students. Advances in Physiology Education 40(2): 157-164, 2016.

14. Martins, R, and McNeil, D. Review of motivational interviewing in promoting health behaviors. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(4): 283-293, 2009.

15. Melton, D, Dail, T, Katula, J, and Mustian, K. Women’s perspectives of personal trainers: A qualitative study. The Sport Journal 14(1): 2011.

16. Miller, S, and Fry, M. Relationship between motivational climate to body esteem and social physique anxiety within college physical activity classes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology 12(4): 525-543, 2018.

17. Miller, W, and Rollnick, S. Ten things that motivational interviewing is not. Behavioral and Cognitive Psychotherapy 37: 129-140, 2019.

18. Mind Tools Content Team. Active listening: Hear qhat people are really saying. Mindtools.com. 2021. Retrieved August 2021 from https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.htm.

19. Moore, E, and Fry, M. Psychometric support for the ownership in exercise and empowerment in exercise scales. Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science 18(2): 135-151, 2014.

20. Nuss, K, Moore, K, Nelson, T, and Li, K. Effects of motivational interviewing and wearable fitness trackers on motivation and physical activity: A systematic review. American Journal of Health Promotion 35(2): 226-235, 2021.

21. O’Brien, K, Hunter, J, and Banks, M. Implicit anti-fat bias in physical educators: Physical attributes, ideology and socialization, International Journal of Obesity 31(2): 308-314, 2007.

22. Palermo, M, Staples, C, and Rancourt, D. Examining the impact of weight bias on the association between exercise identity and maladaptive exercise behaviors. Eating Behaviors 41(1): 2021.

23. Panza, G, Armstrong, L, Taylor, B, Puhl, R, Livingston, J, and Pescatello, L. Weight bias among exercise and nutrition professionals: A systematic review. Obesity Reviews 19(11): 2018.

24. Pearl, R, and Puhl, R. The distinct effects of internalizing weight bias: An experimental study. Body Image 17(1) 38-42, 2016.

25. Pollak, K, Alexander, S, Tulsky, J, Lyna, P, Coffman, C, Dolor, R, et al. Physician empathy and listening: Associations with patient satisfaction and autonomy. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 24(6): 665-672, 2011.

26. Puhl, R, Phelan, S, Nadglowski, J, and Kyle, T. Overcoming weight bias in the management of patients with diabetes and obesity. Clinical Diabetes 34(1): 44-50, 2016.

27. Puhl, R, and Brownell, K. Confronting and coping with weight stigma: An investigation of overweight and obese adults. Obesity 14(1): 1802-1815, 2006.

28. Puhl, R, and Latner, J. Stigma, obesity, and the health of the nation’s children. Psychological Bulletin 133(1): 557-580, 2007.

29. Puhl, R, Schwartz, M, and Brownell, K. Impact of perceived consensus on stereotypes about obese people: A new approach for reducing bias. Health Psychology 24(5): 517-525, 2005.

30. Puhl, R, and Wharton, C. Weight bias: A primer for the fitness industry. ACSM’s Health and Fitness Journal 11(3): 7-11, 2007.

31. Puhl, R, Wharton, C, and Heuer, C. Weight bias among dietetics students: Implications for treatment practices. Journal of the American Dietetics Associations 109(3): 438-444, 2009.

32. Robertson, N, and Vohora, R. Fitness vs. fatness: Implicit bias towards obesity among fitness professionals and regular exercisers. Psychology of Sport and Exercise 9(4): 547-557, 2008.

33. Smith, C, Becnel, J, and Williams, A. Body image and selfesteem in female college students of healthy weight and excess weight: The mediating role of weight stigma. American Journal of Undergraduate Research 16(2): 53-61, 2019.

34. Swami, V, Pietschnig, J, Stieger, S, Tovée, M, and Voracek, M. An investigation of weight bias against women and its associations with individual difference factors. Body Image 7(3): 194-199, 2010.

35. Swift, J, Choi, E, Puhl, R, and Glazebrook, C. Talking about obesity with clients: Preferred terms and communication styales of UK pre-registered dieticians, doctors, and nurses. Patient Education and Counseling 91: 186-191, 2013.

36. Teixeira, P, Carraça, E, Markland, D, Silva, M, and Ryan, R. Exercise, physical activity, and self-determination theory: A systematic review. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 9(1): 78, 2012.

37. Wakefield, K, and Feo, R. Confronting obesity, stigma and weight bias in healthcare with a person centred care approach: A case study. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal 25(1): 28-31, 2017.

38. Washington, R. Childhood obesity: Issues of weight bias. Preventing Chronic Disease 8(5): 1-5, 2011.

39. Wijayatunga, N, Kim, Y, Butsch, W, and Dhurandhar, E. The effects of a teaching intervention on weight bias among kinesiology undergraduate students. International Journal of Obesity 43(11): 2273-2281, 2019.

40. Zaroubi, L, Samaan, T, and Alberga, A. Predictors of weight bias in exercise science students and fitness professionals: A scoping review. Journal of Obesity 2021.

41. Implicit Association Test (IAT). Hosted by Project Implicit. Retrieved 2021 from https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/ takeatest.html.

42. Implicit Associations Test: Weight bias. Hosted by Project Implicit. Retrieved 2021 from https://obesitycompetencies.gwu. edu/article/388.

43. Carlsson, R, and Agerstrom, J. A closer look at the discrimination outcomes in the IAT literature. Cognition and Neurosciences 57(4): 278-287, 2016.

44. Cameron, CD, Brown-Iannuzzi, JL, and Payne, K. Sequential priming measures of implicit social cognition: A meta-analysis of associations with behavior and explicit attitudes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Review 16(4): 2012.

45. Greenwald, AG, Uhlmann, EL, Poehlman, TA, and Banaji, MR. Understanding and using implicit association test: Meta-alaysis of predictive validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 97(1): 17-41, 2009.

46. Oswald, FL, Mitchell, G, Blanton, H, Jaccard, J, and Tetlock, PE. Predicting ethic and racial discrimination: A meta-analysis of IAT criterion studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 105(2): 171-192, 2013.

47. Gawronski, B, Morrison, M, Phills, CE, Galdi, S. Temporal stability of implicit and explicit measures: A longitudinal analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 43(3): 300-312, 2017.

48. Forscher, PS, Lai, CK, Axt, JR, Ebersole, CR, Herman, M, Devine, PG, and Nosek, BA. A meta-analysis of procedures to change implicit measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 117: 522-559, 2019.

About the author

Robyn H Whitehead, PhD

Contact Robyn Whitehead

Robyn Whitehead is an Assistant Professor at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. Whitehead is currently the Undergraduate Program C ...

View full biography
About the author

Whitney Moore, PhD, CSCS,*D

Contact Whitney Moore

Whitney Moore, CSCS*D is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. She was the Chair of the National Streng ...

View full biography
#NSCAStrong #NSCAStrong

Welcome! I’m DASH, your virtual guide to the NSCA. Whether you need help with certifications, CEUs, events, or professional resources, I’ve got your back. What can I help you with today?

Full Page Experience