Bias, Weight, Obesity
Conditions
Brief summary
A quasi-experimental design (i.e., One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design) will be applied among 34 convenient samples of undergraduate students in their first year of nutrition sciences program at Ariel University and Tel-Hai College. The intervention will take place at the simulation centers of the institutions. All participants will be asked to wear an obesity simulation suit (Unisex obesity Simulation suit, Erler-Zimmer, Germany) and to participate in a standardized scenario that simulates meetings between a person with obesity and a 'registered dietitian'. The 'registered dietitian' will be presented by a professional role-player and the scenario will encompass different levels of weight bias. At baseline, 1- and 3-week post-intervention both groups will be asked to fill in a survey using Qualtrics software. The survey will include the Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire (AFA), the Short-Form of Fat-Phobia scale (F-scale), the Weight-Implicit Association-Test (weight-IAT), and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. Data on demographics, weight history, and perception, measurement of actual weight and height, and the beliefs about the causes of obesity questionnaire will be collected at baseline.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALA role-playing exercise by utilizing an obesity suit in a simulation scenario
All participants will be asked to wear an obesity simulation suit (Unisex obesity Simulation suit, Erler-Zimmer, Germany) and to participate in a standardized scenario that simulates meetings between a person with obesity and a 'registered dietitian'. The 'registered dietitian' will be presented by a professional role-player and the scenario will encompass different levels of weight bias through dialogue and the use of inappropriate equipment.
Sponsors
Tel Hai College
Ariel University
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* undergraduate students in their first year of the nutrition sciences program at Ariel University or Tel-Hai College * age ≥18 years * having fluency in Hebrew * ability to wear an obesity suit * willingness to participate in the study
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire ('AFA') | Change from baseline at three- weeks post-intervention | The 'AFA' indicates explicit anti-fat attitudes toward people with obesity and is composed of 13-items rated on a 10-point Likert scale and divided into three subscales ('dislike', 'fear about fat' and 'willpower'), with higher total scores indicating stronger anti-fat attitudes. |
| The short-form of fat-phobia scale (' F-scale') | Change from baseline at three- weeks post-intervention | The 'F-scale' indicates fat-phobic attitudes toward people with obesity and is composed of 14-pairs of adjectives that are used to describe people with obesity (e.g., 'no willpower' vs. 'has willpower') and ranked on a 1-5 scale according to the point closest to the adjective name that describes their feelings and beliefs. Higher scores indicate stronger fat-phobic attitudes. |
| Weight Implicit Association Test ('IAT') | Change from baseline at three- weeks post-intervention | IAT tool is an indirect measure of implicit bias toward weight which uses the constructs of fat people versus thin people and the polarized attitudes of good and bad to detect implicit weight bias. |
| The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (S-version) | Change from baseline at three- weeks post-intervention | A 20-item scale that is designed to measure empathy in medical students. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Objective height measurement | At baseline | Measurement of actual height in meters. |
| Demographics | At baseline | Questions regarding age, gender, occupation, marital status, and religious affiliation. |
| The beliefs about the causes of obesity questionnaire | At baseline | Rating the importance of 20 factors contributing to obesity by using a 5-point Likert-scale response format. |
| Weight perception | At baseline | Questions regarding self-definition of weight status, the importance of weight to self-confidence, and much control a person has over the weight. |
| Weight history | At baseline | Questions regarding obesity during childhood, obesity during last decade, family members who struggle with obesity, currently in any process of losing weight. |
| Objective weight measurement | At baseline | Measurement of actual weight in kilograms. |
Countries
Israel
Outcome results
None listed