PSYC 3331 W2 EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
ANSWERS 100% CORRECT
How is BMI measured? - ANSWER weight as a ratio of height
List down different BMI cutoffs for normal weight, overweight, obese and severe obese
and morbidly obese - ANSWER - Normal: 18.5 to 25
- Overweight: 25 to 29.9
- Obese: 30 to 34.9
- Severely obese: 35 to 39.9
- Morbidly obese: over 40
Why os the measure of BMI said to be limiting? - ANSWER Doesn't take into account
other factors like lifestyle, body composition, etc. Athletes are some of the fittest people
on the planet but according to BMI, they are overweight/obese
What are the 2 ways of measuring weight? - ANSWER 1. BMI
2. Waist circumference
explain the relative risk of dying according to BMI measurements - ANSWER after the
BMI of 30 (i.e. obese), the risk of dying is greater.
Why may BMI not be the best indicator of mortality according to the combined low risk
factors? - ANSWER according to combined low risk factors, even those who are in the
normal or overweight BMI who do not engage in any healthy lifestyle behaviours are only
in baseline. In fact, obese BMI have lower chances of dying if they engage in 3 low risk
behaviours than normal weight people who do not engage in any low risk factors
what are the social consequences of obesity? - ANSWER weight bias in education (less
likely to be accepted into university), employment (less likely to be hired, promoted,
earn lower wages, overweight individuals judged more harshly if they dont perform
well), health care (health care practitioners are explicitly AND implicitly biased against
fat ppl, ppl stigmatised for their weight are more reluctant to see their healthcare
practitioners)
what are the consequences of weight stigma? - ANSWER negative affect, depression,
low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction
why is there said to be a sweet spot when it comes to body image distress? - ANSWER
those who have very low body image distress (dont think they need to change
behaviours at all) and very high body image distress (no motivation to change
, behaviours) have unhealthier dieting behaviours. the sweet spot is in the middle, having
moderate body image distress
stigma and shaming people about their weight has been shown to be ineffective in
changing their behaviours. those who are stigmatised tend to have... (3) - ANSWER -
eating disordered behaviour
- lack of motivation to diet
- avoidance of exercise
explain the 2 ways that obesity stigma leads to negative health outcomes - ANSWER 1.
indirect: stigma is stressful and this leads to ppl engaging in more unhealthy behaviours
like eating junk food, smoking, alcohol drinking
2. direct: stress response of stigma includes increase in cortisol levels, which increases
energy intake usually in terms of high fat foods. Increased cortisol levels also increases
abdominal fat
3 ways weight stigma affects an individual - ANSWER 1. psychological consequences
2. behavioural consequences
3. health consequences
What are the causes of weight stigma? - ANSWER 1. belief that body weight is
controllable - that fat people choose to be fat and are fat solely due to their own actions
2. Pro-effort bias: people rate overweight participants more positively if they are
engaging in healthier behaviours e.g exercising than if they were engaging if
non-healthy behaviours
Weight stigma: Belief that body weight is controllable. Studies have shown that you can
change people's ________ about controllability of weight but you cannot change their
_________. - ANSWER beliefs, attitudes
What are the broad 3 causes of obesity? - ANSWER 1. biological factors like genetics,
metabolism
2. energy intake
3. energy expenditure
One's metabolism is relatively unchanged throughout a person's life thus why an
overweight person is likely to stay overweight and skinny person is likely to stay skinny.
T or F? - ANSWER F - metabolism changes as one is trying to gain/lose weight. if you eat
food, metabolism increases. in contrast, if you're trying to lose weight by not eating,
your metabolism decreases as your body thinks you are deprived of food and thus it will
go into starvation mode.
ANSWERS 100% CORRECT
How is BMI measured? - ANSWER weight as a ratio of height
List down different BMI cutoffs for normal weight, overweight, obese and severe obese
and morbidly obese - ANSWER - Normal: 18.5 to 25
- Overweight: 25 to 29.9
- Obese: 30 to 34.9
- Severely obese: 35 to 39.9
- Morbidly obese: over 40
Why os the measure of BMI said to be limiting? - ANSWER Doesn't take into account
other factors like lifestyle, body composition, etc. Athletes are some of the fittest people
on the planet but according to BMI, they are overweight/obese
What are the 2 ways of measuring weight? - ANSWER 1. BMI
2. Waist circumference
explain the relative risk of dying according to BMI measurements - ANSWER after the
BMI of 30 (i.e. obese), the risk of dying is greater.
Why may BMI not be the best indicator of mortality according to the combined low risk
factors? - ANSWER according to combined low risk factors, even those who are in the
normal or overweight BMI who do not engage in any healthy lifestyle behaviours are only
in baseline. In fact, obese BMI have lower chances of dying if they engage in 3 low risk
behaviours than normal weight people who do not engage in any low risk factors
what are the social consequences of obesity? - ANSWER weight bias in education (less
likely to be accepted into university), employment (less likely to be hired, promoted,
earn lower wages, overweight individuals judged more harshly if they dont perform
well), health care (health care practitioners are explicitly AND implicitly biased against
fat ppl, ppl stigmatised for their weight are more reluctant to see their healthcare
practitioners)
what are the consequences of weight stigma? - ANSWER negative affect, depression,
low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction
why is there said to be a sweet spot when it comes to body image distress? - ANSWER
those who have very low body image distress (dont think they need to change
behaviours at all) and very high body image distress (no motivation to change
, behaviours) have unhealthier dieting behaviours. the sweet spot is in the middle, having
moderate body image distress
stigma and shaming people about their weight has been shown to be ineffective in
changing their behaviours. those who are stigmatised tend to have... (3) - ANSWER -
eating disordered behaviour
- lack of motivation to diet
- avoidance of exercise
explain the 2 ways that obesity stigma leads to negative health outcomes - ANSWER 1.
indirect: stigma is stressful and this leads to ppl engaging in more unhealthy behaviours
like eating junk food, smoking, alcohol drinking
2. direct: stress response of stigma includes increase in cortisol levels, which increases
energy intake usually in terms of high fat foods. Increased cortisol levels also increases
abdominal fat
3 ways weight stigma affects an individual - ANSWER 1. psychological consequences
2. behavioural consequences
3. health consequences
What are the causes of weight stigma? - ANSWER 1. belief that body weight is
controllable - that fat people choose to be fat and are fat solely due to their own actions
2. Pro-effort bias: people rate overweight participants more positively if they are
engaging in healthier behaviours e.g exercising than if they were engaging if
non-healthy behaviours
Weight stigma: Belief that body weight is controllable. Studies have shown that you can
change people's ________ about controllability of weight but you cannot change their
_________. - ANSWER beliefs, attitudes
What are the broad 3 causes of obesity? - ANSWER 1. biological factors like genetics,
metabolism
2. energy intake
3. energy expenditure
One's metabolism is relatively unchanged throughout a person's life thus why an
overweight person is likely to stay overweight and skinny person is likely to stay skinny.
T or F? - ANSWER F - metabolism changes as one is trying to gain/lose weight. if you eat
food, metabolism increases. in contrast, if you're trying to lose weight by not eating,
your metabolism decreases as your body thinks you are deprived of food and thus it will
go into starvation mode.
