Dr. Karen Wetzel
My research lies at the intersection of Social and Health Psychology. My primary goal is to understand how people's identities impact their experiences with, responses to, and health outcomes associated with weight stigma (negative experiences one has due to their body weight). Experiencing weight stigma or discrimination impacts how one thinks about themselves and the world around them. Some people are also high in internalization (feeling badly about themselves because of their body weight), and thus, when other people treat them poorly for their weight, they report worse health, greater disordered eating, and increased feelings of vigilance (worry about experiencing stigma in the future). These, in turn, increase people’s physiological stress (e.g., stress hormones, heart rate, blood pressure) and negatively impact their health over time. Thus, my research focuses on understanding how individual, cultural, and situational factors come together to impact people’s health, well-being, and perceptions of their body using multiple methods (e.g., cortisol analysis, interviews, mixed-methods, longitudinal methods) to understand them.
UTEP Faculty Profile
Sample Publications:
Wetzel, K. E., Himmelstein, M. S., & Ciesla, J. A. (2025). Bracing for impact: An intensive longitudinal investigation of weight stigma, vigilant coping, and maladaptive eating. Social Science & Medicine, 371, 117904. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117904
Wetzel, K.E., Himmelstein, M.S. (2024). Weight stigma is uniquely tied to maladaptive eating across different racial, ethnic, and gender groups. Appetite. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107604
Wetzel, K.E. & Himmelstein, M.S. (2023). Constant vigilance: The impact of weight stigma, vigilance, and internalization on maladaptive eating behaviors. Health Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0001324
Contact Information
Email: kewetzel@utep.edu
Phone:
Fax:
Psychology 118
Personal Information
Ph.D., Kent State University, Kent, Ohio (2026)
Assistant Professor
Weight, Eating, Threat, and Stigma Lab (WETSL Lab)
Courses
PSYC - Social Psychology
Other Resources
