Weight Location Moderates Weight-Based Self-Devaluation and Perceived Social Devaluation in Women

Overweight and obese (“heavyweight”) people devalue themselves because, it has been proposed, they are socially devalued. However, for women, social valuation depends not only on how much weight carry but also where their bodies it. Here, we investigated whether weight-based self-valuation perceived similarly depend body shape. Study 1, using a nationally representative sample from National Health Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; N = 1,093 reproductive-aged women), showed that, controlling fat, labeling (by self others) wanting to lose depended 2, in direct test of predictions an undergraduate women ( 215), that with increased abdominal distribution reported more self-devaluation (e.g., lower self-esteem) devaluation higher discrimination); gluteofemoral distribution, however, were shielded—partially or fully—from these adverse effects fat.