Weight perceptions and psychological well-being in young adults: mediating roles of dispositional gratitude, body appreciation, and weight self-stigma

Obesity is a major global health challenge, particularly in Saudi Arabia (SA). Weight perceptions (WPs), how individuals perceive their body weight, are associated with psychological well-being. This study extends previous research by examining whether dispositional gratitude (DG), body appreciation (BA), and weight self-stigma (WSS) mediate the relationships between WPs and psychological well-being as measured by subjective well-being (SWB) and satisfaction with life (SWL). 900 SA young adults (Mage= 24.79 years, SD = 8.46, 62% female) participated in a cross-sectional online survey assessing WPs, SWB, SWL, DG, BA, WSS. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using maximum likelihood estimation with bootstrap was employed to evaluate parallel mediation models, adjusting for age, sex, marital status, and education. Model fit was assessed via χ², CFI, TLI, RMSEA, and SRMR. Participants had a mean BMI of 24.88 (SD = 5.90) and 38% had body weight misperceptions. For SWL, full mediation was supported (χ²(1) = 6.94, p = .008, CFI = 0.994, TLI = 0.839, RMSEA = 0.082, SRMR = 0.010). WPs were negatively associated with DG (β = − 0.176, p < .001) and BA (β = − 0.334, p < .001), but positively associated with WSS (β = 0.408, p < .001). Indirect associations were significant through DG (β = -0.064, p < .001), BA (β = -0.059, p < .001), and WSS (β = -0.042, p = .008) with total indirect association (β = -0.166, p < .001), explaining 27.6% variance in SWL. Similar results for SWB showed full mediation, with significant total indirect association (β = -0.153, p < .001), explaining 21.6% variance in SWB. These findings underscore the mediating roles of DG, BA, and WSS in the relationships between WPs and psychological well-being, suggesting that interventions targeting these factors could enhance psychological well-being among vulnerable young SA young adults living with obesity, especially those with weight misperceptions. This study explored how young SA adults perceive their body weight and how these perceptions affect their psychological well-being. The findings revealed that body weight misperceptions were common among SA young adults and that such perceptions were significantly associated with three key factors: gratitude, body appreciation, and weight-related self-stigma. Those with weight misperceptions tended to be less grateful, less appreciative of their own bodies, and more likely to experience stigma, with these three factors fully explaining the pathway between weight perceptions and psychological well-being. The findings, which accounted for 22–28% of differences in subjective well-being and life satisfaction, suggest that interventions promoting gratitude, improving body image including self-acceptance and body respect, and reducing weight-related stigma could significantly improve psychological well-being among SA young adults, particularly those living with overweight and weight misperceptions.