Mirror Reflections: The Influence of Body Perception on Obesity Bias among University Students

Mirror Reflections: The Influence of Body Perception on Obesity Bias among University Students | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Mirror Reflections: The Influence of Body Perception on Obesity Bias among University Students Esra Onay, Cigdem Bozkir This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4848294/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: This study investigates the relationship between body perception and obesity bias among university students. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing interventions that promote positive body image and reduce weight stigma. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 334 university students (237 females, 97 males) aged 18-24 from Tekirdağ Dormitory at Namık Kemal University. Participants' sociodemographic and anthropometric details were collected, and assessments were made using the Body Cathexis Scale (BCS) and the Obesity Bias Scale (GAMS-27). Statistical analyses included Chi-Square, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney U, t-test, Kruskall-Wallis H, One Way ANOVA, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. Results: The study found that 81.1% of students had a high perception of their body image. Male students had higher body image and obesity bias scores than female students. Among the participants, 6.3% exhibited no bias, 43.1% were prone to bias, and 50.6% were biased. Obesity bias did not significantly differ among underweight, normal-weight, and overweight students. Individuals with low body perception exhibited higher obesity bias (65.1%) compared to those with high body perception (47.2%). A negative correlation was found between body perception and obesity bias, suggesting that lower body image scores are associated with higher obesity bias. Conclusions: Improving body image is essential for reducing obesity bias among university students. Addressing societal ideals and fears related to weight gain can foster positive body perceptions and mitigate bias. Interventions promoting body acceptance and challenging stereotypes are necessary to create a more inclusive environment. Body perception weight stigma obesity bias BCS body image Introduction Body perception refers to an individual's subjective view of their body, including perceptions, thoughts, feelings, evaluations, and behaviors, regardless of its actual appearance ( 1 , 2 ). Factors such as culture, social environment, peers, family, and media significantly influence body perception. A negative body image can lead to physical and psychological health issues, impacting self-confidence, emotional well-being, and social and occupational success ( 1 , 2 ). Distorted body perception can also lead to unhealthy dietary practices for weight management, contributing to the development of eating disorders and obesity ( 3 ). Studies have highlighted a high prevalence of body dissatisfaction, especially among young adults and adolescents, necessitating interventions to mitigate associated negative outcomes ( 1 ). Women often face pressure to attain underweight and slender bodies, whereas men are expected to achieve muscular physiques, leading to diet-related anxiety, depression, and fear of weight gain ( 4 – 8 ). Body dissatisfaction among adolescents is closely linked to eating disorders ( 9 ). Body image, body weight, and societal norms significantly influence an individual's body perception, particularly in today's media-driven culture. Social media and television perpetuate unrealistic physical ideals, exacerbating issues of body dissatisfaction ( 3 ). University students, experiencing significant life transitions and social pressures related to food choices and weight management upon leaving home, are particularly susceptible to these influences. Recognizing the impact of body perception on the development of healthy eating habits is crucial, making interventions targeting this issue among university students’ paramounts ( 10 ). The increase in obesity prevalence has been accompanied by an increase in bias against individuals living with obesity. Negative stereotypes, such as viewing individuals with obesity as lazy, irresponsible, and lacking self-discipline, have led to societal bias and discrimination ( 11 – 13 ). Individuals with obesity may encounter disparities in employment, education, and healthcare access, as well as bias in interpersonal relationships and mass media ( 14 – 16 ). Despite the societal ideal of a slim physique, obesity rates have surged over the past five decades. The widening gap between the perceived 'ideal' body size and actual body size poses a risk, leading to distorted body perception and self-stigmatization related to weight. Those with obesity often face social discrimination, leading to internalized stigma, reduced self-esteem, feelings of isolation, insecurity, episodes of binge eating, depression, and other psychiatric symptoms ( 17 ). University students living in dormitories, representing various backgrounds, offer a distinct social setting conducive to studying body perceptions and biases regarding obesity. In contemporary society, where physical appearance and weight are given considerable significance, individuals naturally find themselves comparing their physical attributes with those of others. This study aims to explore the connection between body perception and biases toward obesity among university students residing in dormitory. Methods The study was conducted as a cross-sectional descriptive analysis during the spring semester of the 2019–2020 academic year, from February to May 2020, at a student dormitory under the auspices of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Youth and Sports, Tekirdağ Provincial Directorate. Prior to commencing the study, approval was obtained from the (Local Authority Name) Provincial Directorate of Youth and Sports. Subsequently, a local non-interventional ethics committee granted approval on February 4, 2020, with protocol number 2020.07.01.07. The study's population consisted of 2,512 students (1,781 females and 731 males) residing in the dormitory. The simple random sampling method was employed to ensure that each element in the population had an equal chance of being included in the sample. A sample size of 334 students was determined based on the population size (N = 2,512), an accepted error rate (e) of 5%, and a standard normal distribution (Z) at a 95% confidence interval of 1.96. Since the population rate was unknown, the calculation assumed the highest error rate (p = 50%). To ensure the representativeness of the finding’s, stratified sampling was conducted among randomly selected students aged between 18 and 24. The study's objectives and procedures were explained to the participants, and their consent was obtained before administering the questionnaire. Verbal consent was officially recorded. Data collection for the research took place in February and March 2020. Data Collection The methodology employed in this study utilized a comprehensive questionnaire-scale approach, comprising two distinct sections. The first segment of the questionnaire aimed to gather essential data regarding the sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics of the participants. Concurrently, the second section involved administering two specific scales: the Body-Cathexis Scale (BCS) and the Obesity Prejudice Scale (GAMS-27). Data collection was conducted through a combination of face-to-face interviews and online questionnaires. Two-thirds of the participants underwent in-person interviews, while the remaining one-third completed the survey online due to the constraints imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to these restrictions, direct anthropometric measurements could not be taken. Therefore, Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated using self-reported weight and height, following the established formula [body weight (kg)/height 2 (m 2 )], and the results were evaluated based on the ranges defined by the World Health Organization ( 18 ). The BCS, adapted from the scale developed by Secord and Jourand in 1953, was validated for use in Turkey by Hovardaoglu in 1993 ( 19 , 20 ). Comprising 40 Likert-type five-grade items, the scale aims to gauge individuals' satisfaction levels with various aspects of their bodies and functions. The scale demonstrates a Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of 0.91 and a Cronbach's Alpha value of 0.93. Scores on the scale range from 40 to 200, with a cutoff point at 135 points. Scores below 135 indicate low body perception ( 20 ). Additionally, the GAMS-27 was employed, developed by Ercan et al. in 2015. This scale comprises 27 Likert-type items designed to assess attitudes toward obesity. Scores below or equal to 68 indicate an absence of bias, while scores ranging from 68 to 84 suggest a tendency toward bias. Scores exceeding 84 signify biased attitudes toward obesity ( 21 ). Statistical Analysis The statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS 20.0 software. Descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, were utilized to assess the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, such as age, gender, and class. Various statistical tests were applied, including the Chi-Square test for categorical qualitative data, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for the distribution of quantitative data, the Mann-Whitney U test and t-test for mean score comparisons, and the Kruskall Wallis H test and One Way Anova test for multiple group comparisons. Posthoc analyses were conducted using Tamhane's T2, Hochberg's GT2, and Tukey tests to identify significant differences between groups. Furthermore, correlation analysis and regression analysis were employed to examine the relationship between BCS and GAMS-27 mean scores and anthropometric measurements. The significance level for all analyses was set at p < 0.05. The reliability of the study was evaluated using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. The α value serves as an indicator of reliability and is typically deemed reliable if it is 0.7 or higher ( 22 ). A Cronbach's Alpha coefficient between 0.60 ≤ α < 0.80 is considered moderately reliable, while 0.80 ≤ α < 1.00 is considered highly reliable ( 23 ). Each subsection of the study was assessed separately, yielding a Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of 0.725 for sociodemographic data, 0.935 for body perception, and 0.805 for obesity bias. Results The study included 334 university students from various departments and dormitories during the spring semester of 2019–2020. The majority of participants were female (71%), with a mean age of 21 years (± 1.6). The mean BMI was 22 kg/m 2 (± 0.3). Among male students, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 38.8%, while it was 6.8% among female students (Table 1 ). Table 1 Distribution of BMI ​​of students according to WHO classification BMI GENDER Female Male n % n % X 2 p < 18.5 32 13.6 - - 61.697 0.001< 18.5–24.9 189 79.7 59 61.2 25-29.9 15 6.4 37 37.8 ≥ 30 1 0.4 1 1.0 Total 237 100.0 97 100.0 X 2 = Pearson Chi-Square test, p < 0.05 This study also explored participants' body perceptions and obesity bias. Results indicated that 81.1% of students exhibited high body perception, whereas 18.9% displayed low body perception. Gender analysis showed that 20.7% of female students reported low body perception, compared to 14.4% of male students. Male students had a higher mean score on the body perception scale than female students (p < 0.05) (Table 2 ). The study further identified a relationship between smoking status, body image, and obesity bias. Smokers had higher scores on the GAMS-27 than non-smokers (p < 0.05). Table 2 BCS Scores According to Different Variables of the Research Group Variables n (%) Mean SD p Gender Female 237 71 151.39 22.39 0.001< Male 97 29 161.4 20.89 Age ≤ 20 118 35.3 153.45 24.58 0.671 20< 216 64.7 154.59 21.15 Smoke Yes 64 19.2 162.68 19.43 0.001< No 270 80.8 152.18 22.61 Alcohol Habit Yes 102 30.5 155.93 21.51 0.734 No 232 69.5 153.43 22.78 Chronic Disease Diagnosis Yes 23 6.9 146.30 20.82 0.080 No 311 93.1 154.77. 22.43 BMI < 18.5 32 9.60 157.53 20.04 0.397* 18.5–24.9 248 74.30 154.02 22.42 25-29.9 52 15.60 153.86 23.46 ≥ 30 2 0.60 93 19.79 p < 0.05 t test, *One Way Anova test Regarding obesity bias, the mean score among students was 85 (SD = 12.1). Of the participants, 6.3% exhibited no bias, 43.1% were prone to bias, and 50.6% were biased (Table 3 ). Gender analysis revealed that 7.6% of female students showed no bias, whereas only 3.1% of male students exhibited no bias. Male students had a higher mean score on the GAMS-27 compared to female students (p < 0.05) (Table 4 ). Additionally, students with low body perception had higher mean scores on the GAMS-27 than those with high body perception (p < 0.05). Table 3 GAMS-27 Classification according to the BCS Classification Obesity Bias Body Perception Low High Total p n % n % n % Unbiased - - 21 7.7 21 6.3 0.010 Prone to bias * 22 34.9 122 45 144 43.1 Biased 41 65.1 128 47.3 169 50.6 *The group which makes difference, Pearson Chi-Square test, p < 0.05 Table 4 GAMS-27 scores and classification according to different variables Obesity Prejudice Classification GAMS-27 Point p Unprejudiced Prejudice Prone Prejudiced p Gender n (%) Mean SD n (%) n (%) n (%) Female 237 71 84.08 12.24 0.049 18 7.6 102 43 117 49.4 0.289 ** Male 97 29 87.03 11.56 3 3.1 42 43.3 52 53.6 BMI < 18.5 32 9.6 85.15 11.20 1 3.1 16 50 15 46.9 18.5–24.9 248 74.3 84.13 12.25 0.232* 19 7.7 107 43.1 122 49.2 0.487 ** 25-29.9 52 15.6 88.32 11.33 1 1.9 20 38.5 31 59.6 ≥ 30 2 0.6 93 19.79 - - 1 50 1 50 p < 0.05 Mann Whitney U, *Kruskal Wallis H, ** Pearson Chi-Square Correlation analysis revealed a weak negative correlation between body perception and obesity bias (r = -0.18, p < 0.05) (Table 5 ). The regression model was statistically significant (R 2 adj = 0.146, N = 334, p = 0.003). The BCS scores significantly predicted the GAMS-27 score (p = 0.002), with every 0.092-unit decrease in BCS score corresponding to a 1-unit increase in GAMS-27 score (Table 6 ). Table 5 Correlation of the BCS Scores and GAMS-27 Scores of the Research Group Correlation Analysis GAMS-27 Total BCS Total r p n r p n GAMS-27 Total 1.000 334 − .168 ** .002 334 BCS Total − .168 ** .002 334 1.000 334 Pearson Correlation, **The correlation is significant at the 0.01 level. Table 6 Linear Regression Model for GAMS-27 Predictors B 95% CI β t p Intercept 90.032 67.491 to112.572 7.857 < 0.001 BCS − .092 − .151 to-.033 .054 -3.053 0.002 Female -3.214 2.062 to 5.375 − .121 -1.841 .067 Age .316 .432 to-.475 .043 .787 . 432 BMI .213 − .288 to .714 .054 .404 .143 R 2 adj = 0.176 (N = 334, p = 0.003) CI = Confidence Interval for B Discussion University education often marks the transition from adolescence to adulthood. During this period, proper nutrition is crucial for healthy development and academic success. Many students, who often live away from their families during university, struggle with inadequate and unbalanced nutrition due to a lack of nutritional knowledge, economic constraints, food preferences, and deficiencies in nutritional systems. This situation can adversely impact both health and academic performance ( 24 ). In this study, 18.9% of students reported low body perception, while 81.1% exhibited high body perception. Gender analysis showed that 79.3% of female students had high body perception, compared to 85.6% of male students. Notably, male students had significantly higher average scores on the body perception scale. A systematic review in Spain covering studies from 2010–2015 on body perception dissatisfaction among children and adolescents indicated a relationship between body perception, age, and gender, with greater dissatisfaction observed in girls ( 25 ). In Brazil, 57.1% of female students and 67.3% of male students expressed satisfaction with their bodies​ ( 4 ). In studies assessing how students perceive their body weight, it's been noted that men tend to be more satisfied with their body weight than women ( 26 – 28 ). While our study aligns with the gender-body perception relationship, it's worth noting that in another study, female students had significantly higher body perception scale scores than male students ( 29 ). In our study, there was no significant difference in the relationship between BMI and body perception. However, in a review of similar studies, despite variations in methodology, a positive relationship was identified between BMI and body perception ( 25 ). It is stated that the body perception of women with high body fat percentage deteriorates more ( 30 ). A study reported that 81.8% of underweight students and 59.6% of overweight students expressed dissatisfaction with their bodies, while 68.7% of normal-weight students reported being satisfied ( 4 ). Another study revealed that underweight or normal-weight students were generally more satisfied with their bodies compared to students with overweight or obesity ( 27 ). Furthermore, the study found that as BMI increased, the BCS total score decreased for both genders. The BMI classification showed that overweight students had the lowest average score, followed by students with normal weight, and students with underweight had the highest average score ( 31 ). In line with our study's results, some studies did not find a significant relationship between BMI and body perception ( 24 ). This finding may be since the majority of students in our study (74.3%) had a normal weight and scored high on body perception. The lowest score achieved by the participating students on the GAMS-27 was 39, the highest was 112, and the mean score was 84.93 (SD = 12.10). Although the average GAMS-27 scores in the literature are lower, the proportion of those prone to bias is similar to our study ( 32 – 34 ). In our study, 6.3% of the participants exhibited no bias, 43.1% were prone to bias, and 50.6% were biased. Internationally, weight bias rates range from 19–42%, with higher rates of bias observed in individuals with obesity and women ( 35 ). A study conducted by Merdol (2019) with adults reported that 50.8% of individuals were biased, 44.7% were prone to bias, and 4.5% were non-biased. In a study by Altun (2015) with university students, 55.1% of students were prone to bias, and 26.5% were biased. A study examining the obesity bias among nurses found that 63.2% of individuals were prone to bias, and 10.0% were biased ( 33 ). A significant difference was observed between genders. Male students had higher GAMS-27 scores than female students. In a study by Merdol (2019), the average score for female students was 84.19 (SD = 9.91), while the mean score for male students was 85.25 (SD = 11.35), and gender did not significantly affect the total average scores on the GAMS-27 ( 36 ). While some studies ( 37 , 38 ) suggest that men have a higher bias than women, recent studies indicate that women exhibit greater obesity bias ( 39 , 40 ). Elran-Barak and Bar-Anan (2018) found no significant relationship between BMI and obesity bias in their study ( 41 ). Similarly, our study found no significant difference between BMI and obesity bias. Sayın Kasar and Akyol (2015) concluded that BMI does not significantly impact the average total scores on the scale ( 34 ). Individuals with high body perception had an average score of 83.60 (SD = 11.88) on the GAMS-27, classifying them as "prone to bias." A significant difference was found between body perception levels and obesity bias. Additionally, 7.7% of students with high body perception were without bias, 45% were prone to bias, and 47.2% were biased. In contrast, individuals with low body perception achieved an average score of 90.66 (SD = 11.43), classifying them as "biased." Among students with low body perception, 34.9% were prone to bias, and 65.1% were biased. In Altun's study (2015) on university students' bias and negative attitudes toward obesity, students categorized themselves as underweight, normal/average weight, or obese. The study reported that students defining themselves as normal had the lowest average obesity bias scores. However, there was no significant difference in obesity bias mean scores based on body perception ( 36 ). A study with psychology students found that 61.5% considered themselves underweight, 23.1% normal, and 15.4% obese. Although there was no significant difference between groups, all groups exhibited obesity bias ( 42 ). Body perception encompasses more than just body weight; it also includes estimates of body size and weight and thoughts and emotions related to body attractiveness and body shape and size ( 43 ). Body perception is influenced by individual and environmental factors. Therefore, it is crucial to assess body perception using validated and reliable scales, considering both individual statements and objective measurements. Our study revealed that individuals with low body perception exhibited higher obesity bias. Obesity bias and weight stigma lead to behaviors detrimental to psychological and physical health. Individuals subjected to weight stigmatization often experience poor body perception, depressive symptoms, high anxiety levels, social isolation, unhealthy eating habits, and unhealthy weight control behaviors ( 44 , 45 ). Therefore, it is essential to evaluate obesity bias in conjunction with body perception. Conclusion The global increase in obesity has been accompanied by heightened weight bias and stigmatisation, which negatively impact the quality of life and social interactions of individuals with obesity. Societal ideals that favour slim physiques contribute to this bias, leading to negative perceptions of those who are overweight or obese. Our research underscores the necessity of interventions that foster positive body perception to mitigate obesity bias. Tailored educational programmes that address the specific characteristics of different age groups can help cultivate a more inclusive society. By educating individuals about the factors influencing body weight and promoting acceptance of diverse body types, we can reduce the stigma experienced by those with obesity. Declarations Ethics Statement: This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (2013) by the World Medical Association. All procedures involving research participants were approved by the Tekirdag Namık Kemal University Faculty of Medicine Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee (protocol number 2020.07.01.07). Consent for publication: Not applicable. Data availability: The data used in this study are available from the corresponding author upon request. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest. Funding Statement: No institutional or individual funding was received for this study. Authorship: C.B. and E.O. conceived and designed the study, wrote the manuscript, and revised the final version. E.O. collected the data, and both C.B. and E.O. analyzed the data. Acknowledgements: The authors express their sincere gratitude to all the students who participated in this study and to the Tekirdag Youth Sports Provincial Directorate for their support and cooperation. References Shoraka H, Amirkafi A, Garrusi B. 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Prejudice against obesity in university students studying in health-related departments Perspectıves In Psychıatrıc Care 55,no.2,pp.170–174. Ravary A, Baldwin MW, Bartz JA. Shaping the Body Politic: Mass Media Fat-Shaming Affects Implicit Anti-Fat Attitudes. PersSocPsychol Bull. 2019;45(11):1580–9. Doi: 10.1177/0146167219838550. Epub 2019 Apr 14. Elran-Barak R, Bar-Anan Y. Implicit and explicit anti-fat bias: The role of weight-related attitudes and beliefs SocSci. Med. 2018;204:117–24. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.03.018 . Epub 2018 Mar 14. De Caroli ME, Sagone E. Anti-fat or Anti-thin Attitudes Toward Peers? Stereotyped Beliefs and Weight Prejudice in Italian Children Procedia -. Social Behav Sci. 2013;93:177–83. 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.09.174 . Grogan S. (2016) Body image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women, and children (3rd edition). London: Routledge. Pont SJ, Puhl R, Cook SR et al. (2017) Stigma Experienced by Children and Adolescents with Obesity Pediatrics140(6): e20173034. 10.1542/peds.2017-3034 . Epub 2017 Nov 20. Rubino F, Puhl RM, Dixon JB. Joint international consensus statement for ending stigma of obesity. Nat Med volume. 2020;26:pages485–497. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4848294","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":336680880,"identity":"a09a5380-f884-4b16-82ec-72292bd2b32e","order_by":0,"name":"Esra Onay","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Esra","middleName":"","lastName":"Onay","suffix":""},{"id":336680882,"identity":"591349cb-93c2-4be1-8430-e069388ca273","order_by":1,"name":"Cigdem Bozkir","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABDElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZgYGCSCVwMDAxnCAoUICKsxGtJYzSFp48OiCa2FgbIOJ4dHC385+8cbHHIY8fv5jiYcr51nk8Uv3GDB8KDvMYC99ALsNh3mKLWduYyiWbDh24ODZbRLFknPOGDDOOHeYgYcvAasWA2aeNGnebQyJGw62Nxxs3CaRuOFGjgEzbxtQCw6XgbX8BWk5zA7UMgeq5S9eLezHpBlBWo6xHTjY2ADVwohHC9AvzJa9IC/0sCUcbDgmkThzRlrBwZ5z6Tw8Z3CEWP/xhzd+brMBhZjxx4aausR+ieSND36UWcux92DXAgx+AwZI1CCBAwx4Y5L9AW65UTAKRsEoGAUgAAAujFo7IT7sfQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Inonu University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Cigdem","middleName":"","lastName":"Bozkir","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-08-02 12:07:45","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4848294/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4848294/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":74448558,"identity":"f9535e59-72e7-4687-bdfc-2622806bbf0d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-01-22 11:31:40","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":775192,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4848294/v1/0f258857-2faf-4397-b4e9-9445f67162c1.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Mirror Reflections: The Influence of Body Perception on Obesity Bias among University Students","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eBody perception refers to an individual's subjective view of their body, including perceptions, thoughts, feelings, evaluations, and behaviors, regardless of its actual appearance (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). Factors such as culture, social environment, peers, family, and media significantly influence body perception. A negative body image can lead to physical and psychological health issues, impacting self-confidence, emotional well-being, and social and occupational success (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). Distorted body perception can also lead to unhealthy dietary practices for weight management, contributing to the development of eating disorders and obesity (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudies have highlighted a high prevalence of body dissatisfaction, especially among young adults and adolescents, necessitating interventions to mitigate associated negative outcomes (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). Women often face pressure to attain underweight and slender bodies, whereas men are expected to achieve muscular physiques, leading to diet-related anxiety, depression, and fear of weight gain (\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR5 CR6 CR7\" citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e). Body dissatisfaction among adolescents is closely linked to eating disorders (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e). Body image, body weight, and societal norms significantly influence an individual's body perception, particularly in today's media-driven culture. Social media and television perpetuate unrealistic physical ideals, exacerbating issues of body dissatisfaction (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). University students, experiencing significant life transitions and social pressures related to food choices and weight management upon leaving home, are particularly susceptible to these influences. Recognizing the impact of body perception on the development of healthy eating habits is crucial, making interventions targeting this issue among university students\u0026rsquo; paramounts (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe increase in obesity prevalence has been accompanied by an increase in bias against individuals living with obesity. Negative stereotypes, such as viewing individuals with obesity as lazy, irresponsible, and lacking self-discipline, have led to societal bias and discrimination (\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR12\" citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e). Individuals with obesity may encounter disparities in employment, education, and healthcare access, as well as bias in interpersonal relationships and mass media (\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR15\" citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e). Despite the societal ideal of a slim physique, obesity rates have surged over the past five decades. The widening gap between the perceived 'ideal' body size and actual body size poses a risk, leading to distorted body perception and self-stigmatization related to weight. Those with obesity often face social discrimination, leading to internalized stigma, reduced self-esteem, feelings of isolation, insecurity, episodes of binge eating, depression, and other psychiatric symptoms (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e). University students living in dormitories, representing various backgrounds, offer a distinct social setting conducive to studying body perceptions and biases regarding obesity. In contemporary society, where physical appearance and weight are given considerable significance, individuals naturally find themselves comparing their physical attributes with those of others. This study aims to explore the connection between body perception and biases toward obesity among university students residing in dormitory.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study was conducted as a cross-sectional descriptive analysis during the spring semester of the 2019\u0026ndash;2020 academic year, from February to May 2020, at a student dormitory under the auspices of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Youth and Sports, Tekirdağ Provincial Directorate. Prior to commencing the study, approval was obtained from the (Local Authority Name) Provincial Directorate of Youth and Sports. Subsequently, a local non-interventional ethics committee granted approval on February 4, 2020, with protocol number 2020.07.01.07.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study's population consisted of 2,512 students (1,781 females and 731 males) residing in the dormitory. The simple random sampling method was employed to ensure that each element in the population had an equal chance of being included in the sample. A sample size of 334 students was determined based on the population size (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2,512), an accepted error rate (e) of 5%, and a standard normal distribution (Z) at a 95% confidence interval of 1.96. Since the population rate was unknown, the calculation assumed the highest error rate (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;50%). To ensure the representativeness of the finding\u0026rsquo;s, stratified sampling was conducted among randomly selected students aged between 18 and 24.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study's objectives and procedures were explained to the participants, and their consent was obtained before administering the questionnaire. Verbal consent was officially recorded. Data collection for the research took place in February and March 2020.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eData Collection\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe methodology employed in this study utilized a comprehensive questionnaire-scale approach, comprising two distinct sections. The first segment of the questionnaire aimed to gather essential data regarding the sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics of the participants. Concurrently, the second section involved administering two specific scales: the Body-Cathexis Scale (BCS) and the Obesity Prejudice Scale (GAMS-27).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eData collection was conducted through a combination of face-to-face interviews and online questionnaires. Two-thirds of the participants underwent in-person interviews, while the remaining one-third completed the survey online due to the constraints imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to these restrictions, direct anthropometric measurements could not be taken. Therefore, Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated using self-reported weight and height, following the established formula [body weight (kg)/height\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e (m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e)], and the results were evaluated based on the ranges defined by the World Health Organization (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe BCS, adapted from the scale developed by Secord and Jourand in 1953, was validated for use in Turkey by Hovardaoglu in 1993 (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e). Comprising 40 Likert-type five-grade items, the scale aims to gauge individuals' satisfaction levels with various aspects of their bodies and functions. The scale demonstrates a Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of 0.91 and a Cronbach's Alpha value of 0.93. Scores on the scale range from 40 to 200, with a cutoff point at 135 points. Scores below 135 indicate low body perception (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditionally, the GAMS-27 was employed, developed by Ercan et al. in 2015. This scale comprises 27 Likert-type items designed to assess attitudes toward obesity. Scores below or equal to 68 indicate an absence of bias, while scores ranging from 68 to 84 suggest a tendency toward bias. Scores exceeding 84 signify biased attitudes toward obesity (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS 20.0 software. Descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, were utilized to assess the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, such as age, gender, and class. Various statistical tests were applied, including the Chi-Square test for categorical qualitative data, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for the distribution of quantitative data, the Mann-Whitney U test and t-test for mean score comparisons, and the Kruskall Wallis H test and One Way Anova test for multiple group comparisons. Posthoc analyses were conducted using Tamhane's T2, Hochberg's GT2, and Tukey tests to identify significant differences between groups. Furthermore, correlation analysis and regression analysis were employed to examine the relationship between BCS and GAMS-27 mean scores and anthropometric measurements. The significance level for all analyses was set at p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe reliability of the study was evaluated using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. The α value serves as an indicator of reliability and is typically deemed reliable if it is 0.7 or higher (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e). A Cronbach's Alpha coefficient between 0.60\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;α\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.80 is considered moderately reliable, while 0.80\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;α\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;1.00 is considered highly reliable (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e). Each subsection of the study was assessed separately, yielding a Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of 0.725 for sociodemographic data, 0.935 for body perception, and 0.805 for obesity bias.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study included 334 university students from various departments and dormitories during the spring semester of 2019\u0026ndash;2020. The majority of participants were female (71%), with a mean age of 21 years (\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.6). The mean BMI was 22 kg/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e (\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3). Among male students, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 38.8%, while it was 6.8% among female students (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDistribution of BMI ​​of students according to WHO classification\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBMI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGENDER\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eX\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;18.5\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61.697\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.001\u0026lt;\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e18.5\u0026ndash;24.9\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e189\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e79.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e25-29.9\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;30\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e237\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e97\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003eX\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Pearson Chi-Square test, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study also explored participants' body perceptions and obesity bias. Results indicated that 81.1% of students exhibited high body perception, whereas 18.9% displayed low body perception. Gender analysis showed that 20.7% of female students reported low body perception, compared to 14.4% of male students. Male students had a higher mean score on the body perception scale than female students (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). The study further identified a relationship between smoking status, body image, and obesity bias. Smokers had higher scores on the GAMS-27 than non-smokers (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBCS Scores According to Different Variables of the Research Group\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e237\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e151.39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.001\u0026lt;\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e97\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e161.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.89\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e118\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e153.45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.671\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u0026lt;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e216\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e64.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e154.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSmoke\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e162.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.001\u0026lt;\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e270\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e80.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e152.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlcohol Habit\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e102\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e155.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21.51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.734\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e232\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e153.43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChronic Disease Diagnosis\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e146.30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.080\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e311\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e93.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e154.77.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBMI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;18.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e157.53\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.397*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.5\u0026ndash;24.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e248\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e74.30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e154.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25-29.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e153.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.79\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003ep\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05 t test, *One Way Anova test\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegarding obesity bias, the mean score among students was 85 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;12.1). Of the participants, 6.3% exhibited no bias, 43.1% were prone to bias, and 50.6% were biased (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). Gender analysis revealed that 7.6% of female students showed no bias, whereas only 3.1% of male students exhibited no bias. Male students had a higher mean score on the GAMS-27 compared to female students (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). Additionally, students with low body perception had higher mean scores on the GAMS-27 than those with high body perception (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGAMS-27 Classification according to the BCS Classification\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"12\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c12\" colnum=\"12\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" morerows=\"1\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eObesity Bias\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBody Perception\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLow\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHigh\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ep\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003en\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e%\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003en\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e%\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003en\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e%\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c11\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnbiased\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" morerows=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.010\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProne to bias *\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e122\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e144\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBiased\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e65.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e128\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e47.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e169\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"12\"\u003e*The group which makes difference, Pearson Chi-Square test, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGAMS-27 scores and classification according to different variables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"14\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c12\" colnum=\"12\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c13\" colnum=\"13\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c14\" colnum=\"14\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"6\" nameend=\"c13\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eObesity Prejudice Classification\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGAMS-27 Point\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ep\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eUnprejudiced\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c11\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePrejudice Prone\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c13\" namest=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePrejudiced\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ep\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003en\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e(%)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMean\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSD\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003en\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e(%)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003en\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e(%)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003en\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e(%)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e237\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e84.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" morerows=\"1\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.049\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e102\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e117\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e49.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.289\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e97\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e87.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e53.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBMI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;18.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e85.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.5\u0026ndash;24.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e248\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e74.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e84.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" morerows=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.232*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e107\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e122\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e49.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.487\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25-29.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.79\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"14\"\u003ep\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05 Mann Whitney U, *Kruskal Wallis H, ** Pearson Chi-Square\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCorrelation analysis revealed a weak negative correlation between body perception and obesity bias (r = -0.18, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e). The regression model was statistically significant (R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csub\u003eadj\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.146, N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;334, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.003). The BCS scores significantly predicted the GAMS-27 score (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.002), with every 0.092-unit decrease in BCS score corresponding to a 1-unit increase in GAMS-27 score (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCorrelation of the BCS Scores and GAMS-27 Scores of the Research Group\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCorrelation Analysis\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGAMS-27 Total\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBCS Total\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003er\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003er\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGAMS-27 Total\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e334\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.168\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e.002\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e334\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBCS Total\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.168\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e.002\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e334\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e334\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003ePearson Correlation, **The correlation is significant at the 0.01 level.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab6\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 6\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLinear Regression Model for GAMS-27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePredictors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003et\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntercept\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90.032\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67.491 to112.572\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.857\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBCS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.092\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.151 to-.033\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.054\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-3.053\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.002\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-3.214\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.062 to 5.375\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.121\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.841\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.067\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.316\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.432 to-.475\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.043\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.787\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e. 432\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBMI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.213\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.288 to .714\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.054\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.404\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.143\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003eR\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csub\u003eadj\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.176 (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;334, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.003) CI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Confidence Interval for B\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eUniversity education often marks the transition from adolescence to adulthood. During this period, proper nutrition is crucial for healthy development and academic success. Many students, who often live away from their families during university, struggle with inadequate and unbalanced nutrition due to a lack of nutritional knowledge, economic constraints, food preferences, and deficiencies in nutritional systems. This situation can adversely impact both health and academic performance (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this study, 18.9% of students reported low body perception, while 81.1% exhibited high body perception. Gender analysis showed that 79.3% of female students had high body perception, compared to 85.6% of male students. Notably, male students had significantly higher average scores on the body perception scale. A systematic review in Spain covering studies from 2010\u0026ndash;2015 on body perception dissatisfaction among children and adolescents indicated a relationship between body perception, age, and gender, with greater dissatisfaction observed in girls (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e). In Brazil, 57.1% of female students and 67.3% of male students expressed satisfaction with their bodies​ (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). In studies assessing how students perceive their body weight, it's been noted that men tend to be more satisfied with their body weight than women (\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR27\" citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e). While our study aligns with the gender-body perception relationship, it's worth noting that in another study, female students had significantly higher body perception scale scores than male students (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn our study, there was no significant difference in the relationship between BMI and body perception. However, in a review of similar studies, despite variations in methodology, a positive relationship was identified between BMI and body perception (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e). It is stated that the body perception of women with high body fat percentage deteriorates more (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e). A study reported that 81.8% of underweight students and 59.6% of overweight students expressed dissatisfaction with their bodies, while 68.7% of normal-weight students reported being satisfied (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). Another study revealed that underweight or normal-weight students were generally more satisfied with their bodies compared to students with overweight or obesity (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e). Furthermore, the study found that as BMI increased, the BCS total score decreased for both genders. The BMI classification showed that overweight students had the lowest average score, followed by students with normal weight, and students with underweight had the highest average score (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e). In line with our study's results, some studies did not find a significant relationship between BMI and body perception (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e). This finding may be since the majority of students in our study (74.3%) had a normal weight and scored high on body perception.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe lowest score achieved by the participating students on the GAMS-27 was 39, the highest was 112, and the mean score was 84.93 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;12.10). Although the average GAMS-27 scores in the literature are lower, the proportion of those prone to bias is similar to our study (\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR33\" citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e). In our study, 6.3% of the participants exhibited no bias, 43.1% were prone to bias, and 50.6% were biased. Internationally, weight bias rates range from 19\u0026ndash;42%, with higher rates of bias observed in individuals with obesity and women (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e). A study conducted by Merdol (2019) with adults reported that 50.8% of individuals were biased, 44.7% were prone to bias, and 4.5% were non-biased. In a study by Altun (2015) with university students, 55.1% of students were prone to bias, and 26.5% were biased. A study examining the obesity bias among nurses found that 63.2% of individuals were prone to bias, and 10.0% were biased (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA significant difference was observed between genders. Male students had higher GAMS-27 scores than female students. In a study by Merdol (2019), the average score for female students was 84.19 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9.91), while the mean score for male students was 85.25 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;11.35), and gender did not significantly affect the total average scores on the GAMS-27 (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e). While some studies (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e) suggest that men have a higher bias than women, recent studies indicate that women exhibit greater obesity bias (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e40\u003c/span\u003e). Elran-Barak and Bar-Anan (2018) found no significant relationship between BMI and obesity bias in their study (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e). Similarly, our study found no significant difference between BMI and obesity bias. Sayın Kasar and Akyol (2015) concluded that BMI does not significantly impact the average total scores on the scale (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndividuals with high body perception had an average score of 83.60 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;11.88) on the GAMS-27, classifying them as \"prone to bias.\" A significant difference was found between body perception levels and obesity bias. Additionally, 7.7% of students with high body perception were without bias, 45% were prone to bias, and 47.2% were biased. In contrast, individuals with low body perception achieved an average score of 90.66 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;11.43), classifying them as \"biased.\" Among students with low body perception, 34.9% were prone to bias, and 65.1% were biased. In Altun's study (2015) on university students' bias and negative attitudes toward obesity, students categorized themselves as underweight, normal/average weight, or obese. The study reported that students defining themselves as normal had the lowest average obesity bias scores. However, there was no significant difference in obesity bias mean scores based on body perception (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e). A study with psychology students found that 61.5% considered themselves underweight, 23.1% normal, and 15.4% obese. Although there was no significant difference between groups, all groups exhibited obesity bias (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e42\u003c/span\u003e). Body perception encompasses more than just body weight; it also includes estimates of body size and weight and thoughts and emotions related to body attractiveness and body shape and size (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e). Body perception is influenced by individual and environmental factors. Therefore, it is crucial to assess body perception using validated and reliable scales, considering both individual statements and objective measurements. Our study revealed that individuals with low body perception exhibited higher obesity bias.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eObesity bias and weight stigma lead to behaviors detrimental to psychological and physical health. Individuals subjected to weight stigmatization often experience poor body perception, depressive symptoms, high anxiety levels, social isolation, unhealthy eating habits, and unhealthy weight control behaviors (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e44\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore, it is essential to evaluate obesity bias in conjunction with body perception.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe global increase in obesity has been accompanied by heightened weight bias and stigmatisation, which negatively impact the quality of life and social interactions of individuals with obesity. Societal ideals that favour slim physiques contribute to this bias, leading to negative perceptions of those who are overweight or obese. Our research underscores the necessity of interventions that foster positive body perception to mitigate obesity bias. Tailored educational programmes that address the specific characteristics of different age groups can help cultivate a more inclusive society. By educating individuals about the factors influencing body weight and promoting acceptance of diverse body types, we can reduce the stigma experienced by those with obesity.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics Statement: \u003c/strong\u003eThis study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (2013) by the World Medical Association. All procedures involving research participants were approved by the Tekirdag Namık Kemal University Faculty of Medicine Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee (protocol number 2020.07.01.07).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication: Not applicable.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eThe data used in this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConflict of Interest: \u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eThe authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding Statement: \u003c/strong\u003eNo institutional or individual funding was received for this study. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthorship:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eC.B. and E.O. conceived and designed the study, wrote the manuscript, and revised the final version. E.O. collected the data, and both C.B. and E.O. analyzed the data.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eThe authors express their sincere gratitude to all the students who participated in this study and to the Tekirdag Youth Sports Provincial Directorate for their support and cooperation.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eShoraka H, Amirkafi A, Garrusi B. Review of Body Image and some of Contributing Factors in Iranian Population. Int J Prev Med. 2019;10:19.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHosseini SA, Padhy RK. (2020) Body Image Distortion, StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2020 Jan. 2020 Jul 2. PMID: 3153619.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWalter O, Shenaar-Golan V. 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Nat Med volume. 2020;26:pages485\u0026ndash;497.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Body perception, weight stigma, obesity bias, BCS, body image","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4848294/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4848294/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground: \u003c/strong\u003eThis study investigates the relationship between body perception and obesity bias among university students. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing interventions that promote positive body image and reduce weight stigma.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods: \u003c/strong\u003eA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 334 university students (237 females, 97 males) aged 18-24 from Tekirdağ Dormitory at Namık Kemal University. Participants' sociodemographic and anthropometric details were collected, and assessments were made using the Body Cathexis Scale (BCS) and the Obesity Bias Scale (GAMS-27). Statistical analyses included Chi-Square, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney U, t-test, Kruskall-Wallis H, One Way ANOVA, correlation analysis, and regression analysis.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults: \u003c/strong\u003eThe study found that 81.1% of students had a high perception of their body image. Male students had higher body image and obesity bias scores than female students. Among the participants, 6.3% exhibited no bias, 43.1% were prone to bias, and 50.6% were biased. Obesity bias did not significantly differ among underweight, normal-weight, and overweight students. Individuals with low body perception exhibited higher obesity bias (65.1%) compared to those with high body perception (47.2%). A negative correlation was found between body perception and obesity bias, suggesting that lower body image scores are associated with higher obesity bias.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions: \u003c/strong\u003eImproving body image is essential for reducing obesity bias among university students. Addressing societal ideals and fears related to weight gain can foster positive body perceptions and mitigate bias. Interventions promoting body acceptance and challenging stereotypes are necessary to create a more inclusive environment.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Mirror Reflections: The Influence of Body Perception on Obesity Bias among University Students","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-08-30 11:14:09","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4848294/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"be3d8306-f236-4b33-a2f3-b3feb95b591e","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 30th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-01-22T11:30:49+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-08-30 11:14:09","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4848294","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4848294","identity":"rs-4848294","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}