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

A quasi-experimental design (i.e., "One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design") will be applied among 40 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.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Obesity; Bias, Weight
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: A role-playing exercise by utilizing an obesity suit in a simulation scenario

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Israel
  • Ariel, Israel, 40700
    • Ariel University
    • Contact: Shiri Sherf-Dagan, PhD; Phone Number: +972525122203; Email: shiris@ariel.ac.il

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 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

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Intervention

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

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
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 Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Weight perception	Questions regarding self-definition of weight status, the importance of weight to self-confidence, and much control a person has over the weight.	At baseline
Objective weight measurement	Measurement of actual weight in kilograms.	At baseline
Objective height measurement	Measurement of actual height in meters.	At baseline
Demographics	Questions regarding age, gender, occupation, marital status, and religious affiliation.	At baseline
Weight history	Questions regarding obesity during childhood, obesity during last decade, family members who struggle with obesity, currently in any process of losing weight.	At baseline
The beliefs about the causes of obesity questionnaire	Rating the importance of 20 factors contributing to obesity by using a 5-point Likert-scale response format.	At baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ariel University
• Collaborators: Tel Hai College

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): March 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 21, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 21, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): January 5, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 5, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 21, 2023
• Last Verified: December 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Overweight; Obesity; Body Weight
• Other Study ID Numbers: AU-HEA-SS-20231016-2

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No