Weight discrimination and metabolic syndrome: Examining discrimination attributions and frequency across settings.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined characteristics of discrimination among participants with overweight and obesity, including discrimination attributions (i.e., attributed to weight and/or other personal characteristics) and discrimination frequency across settings (everyday life or medical settings), and their associations with metabolic syndrome. METHOD: Participants with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m² (N = 35,102; aged 57.9 ± 13.9 years; 59% female) from the All of Us Research Program self-reported their experiences of discrimination and contributed biomarker data used to determine metabolic syndrome. Participants identified personal characteristics perceived as reasons for discrimination (e.g., weight, gender, age, race). In cross-sectional analyses, multiple logistic regression models examined how discrimination attributions (weight and/or other personal characteristics) as well as frequency of everyday discrimination and discrimination in medical settings were associated with metabolic syndrome. RESULTS: Participants attributing discrimination to both their weight and other personal characteristics had 31% higher odds of metabolic syndrome than those reporting no discrimination (OR = 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI; 1.19, 1.43]). Participants attributing discrimination to only their weight did not show significantly different odds of metabolic syndrome relative to those reporting no discrimination (OR = 1.12, 95% CI [.92, 1.37]). Adjusting for discrimination attributions, greater frequency of everyday discrimination (OR = 1.07, 95% CI [1.03, 1.11]) and discrimination in medical settings (OR = 1.09, 95% CI [1.04, 1.13]) were positively associated with metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: Findings demonstrate the importance of assessing the burden of weight discrimination, including how multiple discrimination attributions and frequency of discrimination across settings may be associated with cardiometabolic health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).