Brief research reportBody checking is associated with weight- and body-related shame and weight- and body-related guilt among men and women

•Weight- and body-related shame (WEB-S) and guilt (WEB-G) were examined.•Body checking is a correlate of WEB-S and WEB-G.•These associations are consistent among men and women from diverse age groups.•Strategies for reducing WEB-S and WEB-G should focus on body checking.

This study examined whether body checking was a correlate of weight- and body-related shame and guilt for men and women. Participants were 537 adults (386 women) between the ages of 17 and 74 (Mage = 28.29, SD = 14.63). Preliminary analyses showed women reported significantly more body-checking (p < .001), weight- and body-related shame (p < .001), and weight- and body-related guilt (p < .001) than men. In sex-stratified hierarchical linear regression models, body checking was significantly and positively associated with weight- and body-related shame (R2 = .29 and .43, p < .001) and weight- and body-related guilt (R2 = .34 and .45, p < .001) for men and women, respectively. Based on these findings, body checking is associated with negative weight- and body-related self-conscious emotions. Intervention and prevention efforts aimed at reducing negative weight- and body-related self-conscious emotions should consider focusing on body checking for adult men and women.