Weight Discrimination and Poor Cardiovascular Health

People with obesity regularly experience discrimination on the basis of their body weight and such experiences are associated with increased risk for poor cardiovascular health. The goal of this clinical trial is to identify cognitive, affective, behavioral, and physiological factors that explain the relationship between weight discrimination and poor health outcomes.A diverse sample of adults with obesity will be randomly assigned to a social interaction encounter that simulates a typical weight discrimination experience (experimental manipulation) vs. a control manipulation that does not involve discrimination. The investigators will examine the immediate effects of the experimental manipulation on cognitive (e.g., self-regulation), affective (e.g., negative emotion), behavioral (e.g., comfort eating), and physiological (e.g., cortisol secretion) outcomes.Two additional aims of the study are to identify psychological traits that moderate responses to weight discrimination and to assess whether the negative health effects of weight discrimination differ by age, sex/gender, race, or ethnicity.

Inclusion Criteria:(1) body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 (units: weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared; BMI criteria for obesity)(2) 18 years of age or older(3) able to read and understand English(4) have Internet access (to complete the baseline survey)(5) able to come to FSU's campus to take part in a lab-based studyExclusion Criteria:(1) having participated in any of our pilot studies on weight stigma(2) diagnosed with a current major psychiatric disorder (e.g., major depressive disorder, eating disorder)(3) pregnant or nursing(4) diagnosed with Cushing syndrome or taking steroid-based medications(5) having allergies to ingredients in the foods being offered during the taste test (e.g., gluten, peanuts).