A Description of Weight Bias among Hospital Dietitians Working in British Columbia.

Purpose: This study aims to assess weight bias among registered dietitians in British Columbia (BC) and its association with demographic and professional characteristics.

Methods

A cross-sectional electronic survey was conducted using two validated questionnaires: the Fat Phobia Scale-Short Form (FPS) and the Thin-Fat People Implicit Association Test (IAT). The survey was distributed to 252 RDs across three health authorities in BC, with 43 responses included in the final analysis. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and Spearman's correlation.

Results

Most participants (90.5%, n = 42) had mild to moderate fat phobia with a mean FPS score of 3.06 ± 0.34. The IAT results showed that 78.3% of participants implicitly favoured thin people. A significant positive correlation was found between years of dietetic practice and FPS scores (r = 0.34, P = 0.03). Participants with no preference to strong fat preference had a significant shorter median duration of dietetic practice (2.5 years) than participants with a moderate thin preference (13.0 years, P = 0.01).

Conclusions

Weight bias is prevalent among BC dietitians, with significant associations between weight bias and years of practice. These results underscore the need for targeted interventions to address weight bias in dietetic practice, enhancing the quality of care for individuals with larger bodies.