OBJECTIVE: To examine whether body mass index (BMI) and weight discrimination are associated with psychological, behavioral, and interpersonal responses to the coronavirus pandemic. METHODS: Using a prospective design, participants (N=2,094) were first assessed in early February 2020 before the coronavirus crisis in the United States and again in mid‐March 2020 during the President’s 15 Days to Slow the Spread guidelines. Weight, height, and weight discrimination were assessed in the February survey. Psychological, behavioral, and interpersonal responses to the coronavirus were assessed in the March survey. RESULTS: Pre‐pandemic experiences with weight discrimination were associated with greater concerns about the virus, engaging in more preventative behaviors, less trust in people and institutions to manage the outbreak, and greater perceived declines in connection to one’s community. BMI tended to be unrelated to these responses. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the risks of complications of COVID‐19 associated with obesity, individuals with higher BMI were neither more concerned about the virus nor taking more behavioral precautions than individuals in other weight categories. Weight discrimination, in contrast, may heighten vigilance to threat, which may have contributed to both positive (greater concern, more precautionary behavior) and negative (less trust, declines community connection) responses to the pandemic.
Body Mass Index, Weight Discrimination, and Psychological, Behavioral, and Interpersonal Responses to the Coronavirus Pandemic