Experiences of weightism among sexual minority men: Relationships with Body Mass Index, body dissatisfaction, and psychological quality of life

Abstract

RATIONALE: Experiences of weightism are associated with reduced psychological quality of life among heterosexual men and women. However, despite noted vulnerability to body image pressures, weightism has not been quantitatively examined among sexual minority men. We tested two hypotheses: first, that Body Mass Index (BMI) and weightism would evidence a curvilinear relationship, such that underweight and overweight men would report experiencing more weightism than men in the "normal" weight range; and second, that a negative association between BMI and quality of life would be explained by experiences of weightism and body dissatisfaction. METHOD: Sexual minority men living in Australia and N..