Abstract

Objective: Emerging research suggests weight-neutral approaches to health promotion are effective in supporting overall health, but they have been minimally adopted within physical activity (PA) contexts. This is concerning as research shows PA-related professionals can perpetuate weight stigma, which can disrupt PA participation and enjoyment. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine university recreation center (URC) leaders’ attitudes toward health and weight. Participants and methods: One-hundred forty-one URC leaders completed the online Health and Weight Attitudes Scale. Results: Women and those who wanted to maintain weight had more positive attitudes toward not dieting than men (F (1,136)=5.090, p = 0.026, η_p² = 0.036) and those who wanted to lose weight (p = 0.015). Participants’ open-ended responses showed they held several misconceptions about the health and weight relationship and about weight-neutral eating and PA messaging. Conclusion: Educating PA professionals on weight-neutral approaches could benefit effective and inclusive PA and health promotion in URCs.

摘要

目标：新兴研究表明，促进健康的体重中性方法可有效支持整体健康，但在身体活动 (PA) 环境中很少采用。这是令人担忧的，因为研究表明与 PA 相关的专业人员可以使体重耻辱永久化，这可能会破坏 PA 的参与和享受。因此，本研究的目的是检查大学娱乐中心 (URC) 领导对健康和体重的态度。参与者和方法： 141 名 URC 领导人完成了在线健康和体重态度量表。结果：女性和想要保持体重的人对不节食的态度比男性更积极 (F (1,136)=5.090, p = 0.026, η _p ²= 0.036) 和想要减肥的人 (p = 0.015)。参与者的开放式回答表明他们对健康和体重的关系以及体重中性饮食和 PA 信息传递存在一些误解。结论：对 PA 专业人员进行体重中性方法的教育可以有益于 URCs 中有效和包容的 PA 和健康促进。