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Women are disproportionately impacted by pain compared to men, highlighting the need to better understand factors that contribute to this gender disparity. Previous findings suggest weight-related stigma may be associated with pain among women attempting to lose weight. The goal of this study is to determine if experienced and/or internalized weight bias mediate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and pain-related impairment in a large, community-based sample of women across the weight spectrum (N = 309; M Age  = 56.5, SD = 14.5; M BMI  = 28.5, SD = 7.1), and to evaluate whether this relationship differs for women with a pain condition. Analyses were performed using the Conditional-PROCESS Macro to examine the relationships between BMI, pain-related impairment, internalized and experienced weight-stigma, and the potentially moderating effect of pain-related conditions on these relationships. After adjusting for covariates, both experienced stigma and internalized weight stigma statistically mediated the BMI and pain-related impairment relationship; however, in the tests of moderated mediation, the indirect effect of internalized weight bias only held true for those without pain conditions. These findings offer a preliminary conceptual model and highlight the importance of pain research to include weight-related stigma., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Studies show that women with high BMI are less likely than thinner women to seek healthcare. We aimed to determine the mechanisms linking women's weight status to their healthcare avoidance. Women (N = 313) were surveyed from a U.S. health-panel database. We tested a theory-driven model containing multiple stigma and body-related constructs linking BMI to healthcare avoidance. The model had a good fit to the data. Higher BMI was related to greater experienced and internalized weight stigma, which were linked to greater body-related shame. Internalized weight stigma was also related to greater body-related guilt, which was associated with higher body-related shame. Body-related shame was associated with healthcare stress which ultimately contributed to healthcare avoidance. We discuss recommendations for a Weight Inclusive Approach to healthcare and the importance of enhancing education for health professionals in weight bias in order to increase appropriate use of preventive healthcare in higher weight women., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)