RESUMO
As weight status is frequently associated with health and the COVID-19 pandemic has raised attention to weight status, we used a cross-sectional mixed-methods design to explore how weight status or body size is described when defining health. We recruited 288 participants who were 18 years and older and living in the United States to complete a study about health and health behaviors during the pandemic. First, we used directed content analysis to explore if and how weight status/body size is described when asked to define health. Next, we used intensity sampling and a constant comparison approach to assess whether descriptions of health differed by diagnosis of a chronic disease, sex, and weight bias internalization. Seventy percent (n = 202) of participants described an aspect of weight, body size, or shape when defining health, the majority of which (65%) indicated someone could be unhealthy due to their weight or size. Only 29% (n = 84) of participants implied or directly stated a person could be healthy regardless of weight or size. There 4 were no significant differences in the description of health by chronic disease status or weight bias internalization. Women included health behaviors more frequently than men. Our findings indicate that weight was inextricably linked with health among most adults in the United States. To promote health and reduce the damaging effects of weight stigma, it is imperative that preventive interventions and policies include weight-inclusive messages that underscore the importance of the multiple indicators of health, beyond weight and size.