Weight-based stigma is a factor that potentially impacts the emotional problems experienced by overweight and obese people, and is perpetuating the difficulties that these individuals are burdened with on a daily basis. In fact, research has revealed that children enduring weight-based stigma are experiencing psychological distress and utilize unhealthy coping strategies, such as binge eating behavior, to deal with their stigmatizing experiences. Given that the rates for obesity are highest for multi-ethnic and low-income adolescents, efforts to improve our understanding of binge eating disorders, weight-based stigma, and psychological distress in this population are warranted. Only by identifying these variables can effective multidisciplinary and multiethnic interventions be designed.

The purpose of this study was to describe and examine the relationship between binge eating disorder, weight-based stigma and psychological distress in low-income and multi-ethnic adolescents. The study was conducted in Southern California and utilized a cross-sectional study design. We enrolled 105 participants, between the ages of 13 to 19 years, from low-income neighborhoods. Participants filled out self-report questionnaires to assess binge eating behavior, weight-based stigma, and psychological functioning. The scales included the Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns for Adolescents (QEWP-A), the revised Stigmatizing Situations Inventory for Adolescents (SSI-A), the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), and the Symptom Checklist 90R (SCL-90R). After completing the questionnaires, each adolescent's height and weight was measured.

Results from this study indicated that there is a correlation between binge eating disorder, weight-based stigma, and psychological distress in low-income adolescents. Specifically, participants with binge eating behavior reported higher levels of body image disturbance and psychological distress. Participants with higher body mass indexes endured more weight-based stigma, reported higher levels of binge eating, and had higher psychological distress scores. In addition, there was a correlation between gender and higher levels of body image disturbance and psychological distress. Binge eating disorder, weight-based stigma, and psychological distress did not seem to differ drastically across different ethnicities. In a multivariate regression, weight based stigma and psychological distress accounted for 34% of the variance in binge eating disorders. Future longitudinal studies should focus on elucidating the causal relationship between binge eating disorder, weight-based stigma, and psychological distress. In addition, studies should tailor interventions that decrease the effects of weight-based stigma in low-income and multi-ethnic adolescents. Teaching adolescents to build more adaptive coping strategies will be key to reducing the psychological impact of weight-based stigma.