Reducing Educators' Weight Bias: The Role of School-Based Anti-Bullying Policies

Background: Educators' negative weight biases toward students with high body weight have been well-documented. The present investigation examined whether inclusion of body weight in school anti-bullying policies is associated with lower levels of weight bias among educators. Methods: Data on explicit weight bias was collected from a sample of secondary school teachers and principals in the United States (N = 246) and examined in relation to the presence of weight-related language in each participant's school district anti-bullying policy. Results: The results indicate that, although educators on average make negative judgments about individuals with high weight, these biases were lower for educators whose school district anti-bullying policy included enumeration of body weight. Notably, this association did not hold when policies enumerated "appearance." Conclusions: The study findings suggest that the explicit mention of "weight" in school anti-bullying policies may represent a feasible mechanism to reduce explicit weight bias among U.S. secondary school educators.