ReviewComprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology2025
Weight-based discrimination and cortisol output: A systematic review.
Review in Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Discrimination based on weight status (or weight-related discrimination/stigma) may be related to greater physical and mental health concerns via physiological and psychological phenotypes of stress. Cortisol output, a biomarker of stress, has been measured in relation to weight stigma and weight-related discrimination. This systematic review aims to synthesize existing research on the relationship between weight-related discrimination and cortisol output, evaluate methodological approaches for measuring these constructs, and identify research gaps regarding contextual factors influencing this relationship. A comprehensive search was conducted across multiple databases (PsycINFO, Scopus, ProQuest, and PubMed) from February 1 to July 1, 2024, resulting in 11 eligible studies that examined weight discrimination in relation to cortisol levels. Studies were assessed for quality using the NHLBI Study Quality Assessment Tool, and inter-rater reliability for coding was established at 90 %. The findings revealed a range of sample sizes (45-4341) and diverse participant characteristics, including variations in age, race, and body mass index (BMI). About half (N = 5) of the included studies reported a positive relation between weight stigma and cortisol output. The review also uncovered significant limitations in current methodologies, particularly concerning contextual factors and other marginalized identities, such as socioeconomic status and food insecurity, along with measuring other forms of discrimination in tandem with weight stigma, such as racial discrimination. These findings underscore the need for future research to adopt a more intersectional approach in examining the multifaceted nature of weight stigma and how it relates to a greater stress response in multiple marginalized identities, as well as including longitudinal modeling of weight stigma's impact on biomarkers for stress.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.