Background

Extant literature has examined the impact of weight related abuse (WRA) in populations with obesity. However, differences between bariatric treatment seeking versus community samples and samples with versus without morbid obesity have not been explored. This study sought to evaluate verbal WRA (vWRA) differences between treatment seeking versus community samples and individuals with and without morbid obesity in Peru and the US.

Methods

1109 participants were recruited from Peru (n=571) and the US (n=538). The treatment seeking group (n=115) included individuals pursuing or interested in weight loss treatment and the community sample (n= 786) included non-treatment seeking individuals. Participants completed the verbal subscale of the WRA Questionnaire in either Spanish or English.

Results

Chi square tests of independence suggest no difference in experiencing vWRA between individuals with (10.2%) versus without morbid obesity (61.4%, p >.05). However, independent samples t-tests suggested that individuals with morbid obesity experience higher levels of vWRA (MvWRA=2.83) than individuals without morbid obesity (MvWRA=1.45;t(102.72)=-7.93, p<.001). Moderated regression analyses suggest that the interaction between BMI and treatment seeking status did not significantly predict vWRA (p >.05).

Conclusions

This study is novel in examining differences in vWRA for individuals with and without morbid obesity and treatment seeking versus community samples in the US and Peru. Individuals with morbid obesity experienced higher levels of vWRA than those without, suggesting vWRA is positively associated with BMI status. Future research should explore the link between BMI and treatment status relative to WRA.