Poster No:
663
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Yuko Nakamura1
Institutions:
1The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
First Author:
Introduction:
The global prevalence of obesity has more than tripled between 1975 and 2022. With this rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity, weight-related stigma is now being recognized as a major public health problem. When individuals apply negative weight stereotypes or weight-related stigma to themselves and reject themselves because of their body weight, weight bias internalization (WBI) occurs (Pearl & Puhl, 2018). Recent evidence has reported that WBI has a negative impact on physical and mental health, in addition to weight management. Although various social psychological factors could influence WBI, self-consciousness would have a significant impact on WBI. Self-consciousness refers to a persistent tendency to think about oneself and to maintain continuous self-focused attention (Fenigstein & Scheier, 1975). Self-consciousness is known to be associated with self-stigma of mental illness and WBI. However, the associations between weight status, WBI, and self-consciousness are still unclear. Therefore, we conducted an online survey to collect data on body mass index (BMI), WBI, and self-consciousness in Japan, South Korea, Germany, and the United States (US). We also performed structural and functional MRI measurements in Japan to examine the effect of WBI and self-consciousness on neural networks related to ingestive behavior.
Methods:
The Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire (WSSQ) (Lillis et al., 2010) was used to assess WBI, and the Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS) (Fenigstein & Scheier, 1975) was adapted to assess self-consciousness. First, an online survey was conducted to collect data on BMI, WSSQ, and SCS in Japan (n = 1946), and the associations between BMI, WSSQ, and SCS were examined using a linear mixed model. Second, BMI, WSSQ, and SCS were collected through online surveys in South Korea (n = 500), Germany (n = 598), and the United States (US) (n = 580), and the linear mixed model was fitted to examine the associations between BMI, WSSQ, and SCS and to compare these associations in Japan, South Korea, Germany, and the US. Finally, stractual (n = 120) and functional (n = 30) MRI measurements were conducted to assess the associations between WSSQ, SCS, and brain circuits.
Results:
In Japanese population, BMI was negatively associated with public self-consciousness (public-SCS), a subscale of the SCS (ß=-0.03, p < 0.001), and positively associated with self-devaluation, a subscale of the WSSQ (ß=0.30, p < 0.001), after controlling for age and gender. Causal mediation analysis revealed that the causal mediation effect of self-devaluation was estimated at -0.007 (95% CI = [-0.012, 0.000], p < 0.001), indicating that self-devaluation indirectly influences BMI through public SCS. Then, multi-group structural equation model analysis showed significant differences in the mediation effect of public SCS in Japan, South Korea, Germany, and the US (Δχ² (9) =49.10, p < 0.001). Finally, structural MRI showed that public SCS was positively associated with gray matter volume in the occipital cortex (p = 0.036) and precuneus (p = 0.043). Functional MRI data showed that self-evaluation was positively associated with subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sACC) response to palatable liquid consumption (pFWE-corrected = 0.011). Subsequent moderation analysis revealed a significant moderating effect of sACC response on the relationship between BMI and public SCS (ß=0.433, p = 0.026). Functional connectivity analysis revealed that sACC-precuneus connectivity was positively correlated with public SCS (pFDR-corrected < 0.001).
Conclusions:
Public self-consciousness would attenuate the positive effect of self-devaluation on BMI. This effect of public self-consciousness varied across four countries, suggesting that there are cultural effects on public self-consciousness. MRI data suggest that public self-consciousness would influence self-devaluation by modulating sACC-precuneus connectivity.
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Social Neuroscience Other 1
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
fMRI Connectivity and Network Modeling 2
Keywords:
Eating Disorders
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Social Interactions
STRUCTURAL MRI
Taste
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Please indicate below if your study was a "resting state" or "task-activation” study.
Task-activation
Healthy subjects only or patients (note that patient studies may also involve healthy subjects):
Healthy subjects
Was this research conducted in the United States?
No
Were any human subjects research approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board or ethics panel?
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Were any animal research approved by the relevant IACUC or other animal research panel?
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Please indicate which methods were used in your research:
Functional MRI
Structural MRI
Other, Please specify
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online survey
For human MRI, what field strength scanner do you use?
3.0T
Which processing packages did you use for your study?
SPM
FSL
Free Surfer
Other, Please list
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CONN
Provide references using APA citation style.
Fenigstein, A., & Scheier, M. F. M. (1975). Public and private self-consciousness: Assessment and theory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 43, 522–527.
Lillis, J., Luoma, J. B., Levin, M. E., & Hayes, S. C. (2010). Measuring weight self-stigma: The weight self-stigma questionnaire. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 18(5), 971–976. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2009.353
Pearl, R. L., & Puhl, R. M. (2018). Weight bias internalization and health: A systematic review. Obesity Reviews: An Official Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 19(8), 1141–1163. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12701
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