Tendency to Avoid Physical Activity and Sport: Associations with Weight Stigma, and Psychological Distress in a Two-Wave Longitudinal Study

Background: Physical inactivity is a major public health problem worldwide that results in physical and mental health problems. One major issue for physical inactivity is weight stigma (WS), especially perceived WS, which could lead to a tendency to avoid physical activity (PA). To better understand the association between perceived WS and PA, knowledge of the likely mediators in this association such as weight bias internalization (WBI) and psychological distress were investigated in the present study. Methods: Using a two-wave longitudinal study and convenient sampling, 388 Taiwanese participants (55% females; mean age = 29.7 years [SD ± 6.3]) completed two surveys six months apart. Body mass index (BMI), Perceived Weight Stigma Scale (PWSS), Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS), Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21), and Tendency to Avoid Physical Activity and Sport Scale (TAPAS) were assessed. Results: A mediation model controlling for age, gender, and BMI with 5000 bootstrapping resamples was performed. Perceived WS exerted significant direct effects on WBI (β = 0.25; p < 0.001), psychological distress (β = 0.15; p = 0.003), and tendency to avoid PA (β =0.10;p = 0.027); WBI exerted a significant direct effect on tendency to avoid PA (β = 0.47; p < 0.001). Standardized indirect effects of WBI and psychological distress on the association between perceived WS and tendency to avoid PA were 0.12 and 0.01, respectively. Conclusion: Given the direct association of perceived WS on the tendency to avoid PA and the mediating role of WBI in this association, interventions addressing perceived WS and WBI may contribute to promoting PA. Therefore, health interventionists (both when planning and executing PA programs) need to consider weight stigmawhen encouraging physical activity.