Examining the Effect of Role-playing Exercise by Utilizing an Obesity Suit in a Simulation Scenario on Weight Bias and Empathy Levels Among Nutrition Sciences Students

NCT06192537 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: AU-HEA-SS-20231016-2
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 34
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

A quasi-experimental design (i.e., "One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design") will be applied among 34 convenient samples of undergraduate students in their first year of nutrition sciences program at Ariel University and Tel-Hai College. The intervention will take place at the simulation centers of the institutions. All participants will be asked to wear an obesity simulation suit (Unisex obesity Simulation suit, Erler-Zimmer, Germany) and to participate in a standardized scenario that simulates meetings between a person with obesity and a 'registered dietitian'. The 'registered dietitian' will be presented by a professional role-player and the scenario will encompass different levels of weight bias. At baseline, 1- and 3-week post-intervention both groups will be asked to fill in a survey using "Qualtrics" software. The survey will include the Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire (AFA), the Short-Form of Fat-Phobia scale (F-scale), the Weight-Implicit Association-Test (weight-IAT), and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. Data on demographics, weight history, and perception, measurement of actual weight and height, and the beliefs about the causes of obesity questionnaire will be collected at baseline.

Conditions

Obesity; Bias, Weight

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire ('AFA')

  The 'AFA' indicates explicit anti-fat attitudes toward people with obesity and is composed of 13-items rated on a 10-point Likert scale and divided into three subscales ('dislike', 'fear about fat' and 'willpower'), with higher total scores indicating stronger anti-fat attitudes.

  Change from baseline at three- weeks post-intervention

• The short-form of fat-phobia scale (' F-scale')

  The 'F-scale' indicates fat-phobic attitudes toward people with obesity and is composed of 14-pairs of adjectives that are used to describe people with obesity (e.g., 'no willpower' vs. 'has willpower') and ranked on a 1-5 scale according to the point closest to the adjective name that describes their feelings and beliefs. Higher scores indicate stronger fat-phobic attitudes.

  Change from baseline at three- weeks post-intervention

• Weight Implicit Association Test ('IAT')

  IAT tool is an indirect measure of implicit bias toward weight which uses the constructs of "fat people" versus "thin people" and the polarized attitudes of "good" and "bad" to detect implicit weight bias.

  Change from baseline at three- weeks post-intervention

• The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (S-version)

  A 20-item scale that is designed to measure empathy in medical students.

  Change from baseline at three- weeks post-intervention

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Demographics

  At baseline

• Weight perception

  At baseline

• Weight history

  At baseline

• Objective weight measurement

  At baseline

• Objective height measurement

  At baseline

Study Arms (1)

Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: A role-playing exercise by utilizing an obesity suit in a simulation scenario

Interventions

A role-playing exercise by utilizing an obesity suit in a simulation scenario BEHAVIORAL

All participants will be asked to wear an obesity simulation suit (Unisex obesity Simulation suit, Erler-Zimmer, Germany) and to participate in a standardized scenario that simulates meetings between a person with obesity and a 'registered dietitian'. The 'registered dietitian' will be presented by a professional role-player and the scenario will encompass different levels of weight bias through dialogue and the use of inappropriate equipment.

Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• undergraduate students in their first year of the nutrition sciences program at Ariel University or Tel-Hai College
• age ≥18 years
• having fluency in Hebrew
• ability to wear an obesity suit
• willingness to participate in the study

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ariel University: lead
• Tel Hai College: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Ariel University

Ariel, 40700, Israel

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Tayar-Wachsberger I, Green G, Pinus M, Tepper S, Sherf-Dagan S. Examining the effect of an obesity suit role-playing exercise on empathy and weight bias in nutrition students. Nutrition. 2025 Oct;138:112813. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2025.112813. Epub 2025 Apr 19.

  PMID: 40466592 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Obesity; Weight Prejudice

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Overweight; Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Prejudice; Social Behavior; Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 21, 2023
• First Posted: January 5, 2024
• Study Start: March 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: August 1, 2024
• Study Completion: August 1, 2024
• Last Updated: September 5, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-08

Locations

IL (1)