Body image dissatisfaction and eating symptoms in mothers of adolescents with eating disorders

The purpose of the present study was to assess body dissatisfaction and eating symptoms in mothers of eating disorder (ED) female patients and to compare results with those of a control group. The case group consisted of 35 mothers of female adolescents (aged between 10 and 17 yrs) diagnosed with ED who attended the Interdisciplinary Project for Care, Teaching and Research on Eating Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence (PROTAD) at Clinicas Hospital Institute of Psychiatry of the Universidade de Sao Paulo Medical School. Demographic and socioeconomic data were collected. Eating symptoms were assessed using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) and body image was assessed by the Body Image Questionnaire (BSQ) and Stunkard Figure Rating Scale (FRS). The case group was compared to a control group consisting of 35 mothers of female adolescents (between 10 and 17 years) who attended a private school in the city of Sao Paulo, southeastern Brazil. With regard to EAT, BSQ and FRS scores, we found no statistically significant differences between the two groups. However, we found a positive correlation between BMI and BSQ scores in the control group (but not in the case group) and a positive correlation between EAT and FRS scores in the case group (but not in the control group). It appears to be advantageous to assess body image by combining more than one scale to evaluate additional components of the construct. (Eating Weight Disord. 15: e219-e225, 2010). (C)2010, Editrice Kurtis

Body image dissatisfaction among males across the lifespan- a review of past literature

Objective: Most past research has focused on body dissatisfaction among females. This paper provides a review and evaluation of studies that have examined body dissatisfaction among males. Body dissatisfaction in males has been associated with poor psychological adjustment, eating disorders, steroid use, exercise dependence, as well as other health behaviors. It is therefore important to understand the level of body dissatisfaction, as well as the factors that are related to this construct. Method: The review is divided into three sections: body dissatisfaction among children, adolescents and adults. Within each section, levels of body dissatisfaction are examined, as well as the research that relates to sociocultural influences on body dissatisfaction. Difficulties in drawing valid conclusions from the data due to methodological problems are highlighted. Results: From the current data, it would appear that there are strong similarities in the levels of body dissatisfaction of male and female children, with most children demonstrating high levels of body satisfaction. During adolescence, boys are about equally divided between wanting to lose weight and increasing weight, but there are few studies that have examined a desire for increased muscle size. In adulthood, men evidence a stronger desire to lose weight as they get older. Conclusion: Overall, past studies have primarily focused on questions that are relevant to females, and there is a need to conduct studies that evaluate areas of body dissatisfaction that have greater relevance for males. This will then allow a better understanding of the relationship between body dissatisfaction and psychological and behavioral problems experienced by males at all stages of the lifespan.

A longitudinal study of body image and strategies to lose weight and increase muscles in children

A longitudinal study was used to examine age differences in the role of body mass index (BMI) and sociocultural pressures in predicting changes in body image and strategies to both lose weight and increase muscles among 443 children aged between 8 and 12 years (207 boys, 236 girls) over a 16-month period. The strongest predictors of body image and these strategies were BMI, the media and mothers, and to a lesser extent fathers and best friends. Girls were focused on losing weight, whereas boys were focused on both increasing muscle and losing weight. Surprisingly, there was a reduction in strategies both to lose weight and increase muscles as children approached adolescence. The implications of these findings for preventative educational programs for boys and girls are discussed.

Body image and self-esteem : a developmental perspective

This study examined the relationship between different aspects of the body image construct and self-esteem among males and females in adolescence and adulthood. The respondents were 428 adolescent boys and girls, and 426 adult men and women. Regression analyses were used to determine the prediction of self-esteem by body image variables for different groups. The results demonstrated that body image consistently predicted male and female self-esteem, although the specific aspects of body image that were important differed between genders and different age groups. Body image was particularly relevant to the self-esteem of adolescent girls. The implications are discussed.

Examining the dissociative basis for body image disturbances

Although dissociative symptoms have been linked with both food- and appearance-related aspects of eating disorders, the psychological mechanisms underlying these relationships remain unclear. The present study evaluated the hypothesis that the disturbances of self-identity attributed to dissociation can manifest as disturbances of body image and, in turn, undermine body-specific self-evaluations relevant to disordered eating (i.e., body comparison, body dissatisfaction, and internalization of the thin ideal). Ninety-three female university students completed self-report measures of dissociation and body-related aspects of disordered eating. In addition, the method of constant stimuli was used to experimentally derive three measures of body image disturbance: (1) accuracy of body size estimations (body image distortion), (2) ability to discriminate between different body sizes (body image sensitivity), and (3) consistency in one’s body size estimations (body image variability). The findings show that dissociation is related to symptoms of disordered eating, and that these relationships may be mediated by body image instability. Collectively, these findings support the notion that the body image attitudes and behaviours that characterize eating disorders may derive from proprioceptive deficits due to dissociation.

'Just bloody fat!' : a qualitative study of body image, self esteem and coping in obese adults

The rise of the ‘obesity epidemic’ in Western societies has led to an increased public gaze on obese individuals. Yet there is limited research that explores through qualitative methods the increased impact it has had on obese individuals’ perceptions of self, body image and coping strategies, using their own words. This paper presents the findings of interviews with a community sample of 142 obese adults in Australia. We examined how obese individuals felt about themselves and their bodies, what influenced these feelings, and the subsequent coping strategies employed. While participants were able to identify many positive characteristics about their inner self, the vast majority used negative language to describe their physical appearance. Many participants described feelings of ‘guilt’, ‘shame’ and ‘blame’ associated with their weight. Coping strategies included striving for perfection in other areas of their life, social isolation, maximising aspects of their appearance and ‘fat’ acceptance. This study shows that, while different groups of obese adults experience, cope with and compensate for the influence of weight-based stereotyping in many different ways, they still feel an unrelenting otherness and difference associated with their weight.

Body image and self-esteem among Asian, Pacific Islander, and white college students in Hawaii and Australia

Body image and its relationship to self-esteem was examined among Asian, Pacific Islander, and White women and men from Hawaii and Australia (n = 172). Although Pacific Islander and White participants had higher body mass indices than Asians, Pacific Islanders were more satisfied than Asians with their health and more satisfied than Asians and Whites with their appearance. Thus, higher body weight and greater body satisfaction may co-occur among Pacific Islanders, whereas lower weight and lower body satisfaction may co-occur among Asians. The findings suggest different levels of risk for body image dissatisfaction, and its associated psychological consequences, across ethnic groups.

Body image perception in adolescents and concern with weight

In a holistic conception of health, youth health is moderated by their self image and the perception that adolescents have of themselves is conditioned by social and cultural pressure, and low selfesteem is often observed, possibly caused by the way they perceive their own body, having as a consequence, an health proile with morbidities. Recognize the level of youth heath assessing Body Image perception and their concern with weight. It is a descriptive, quantitative and transversal study. Based on a sampling error lower than 5% and a conidence level of 95%, the study was carried out on a sample of 600 adolescents aged between 12 and 18. A self-ad-ministered questionnaire validated for adolescents was conducted by Di Pietro (2002). The sample is composed of 44% male and 56% female adolescents, with an age mean of 15.54. 61.2% of the boys and 83.6% of the girls stated to be concerned with their weight. The main reasons given for this concern were health associated with aesthetics (29.1% of boys and 38.5% of girls). The results show that 12.8% of boys and 23.5% of girls are dissatisied with their body image. The study revealed that the variable gender is statistically moderating in relation to the variables: body image perception and concern with weight: female adolescents show a higher dissatisfaction with their body image (0.003) and a bigger concern with weight (0.000). The results point out towards the need for assessment/ intervention in this population as body image represents a paramount issue in adolescence, with the body image self-perception being strongly associated with the biopsychosocial maturing process, which interferes with their level of health and personal and social development.

Body image dissatisfaction and low self-esteem due to physical appeareance in students of the faculty of medicine at the university of los andes (mérida, venezuela)

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate body image dissatisfaction in relation to low self-esteem due to physical appearance in students of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Los Andes in Mérida, Venezuela.  It was a non-experimental and correlational study.  The sample included 189 students (27% male and 73% female) with an average age of 19.58 ± 1.57 (men: 19.81 years of age ± 1.74 and women: 20.24 years of age ± 1.76).  Participants were intentionally selected from first-year courses of the Medicine, Nursing and Nutrition programs.  The Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) (Cooper and Taylor, 1987) was the instrument used to measure body image dissatisfaction and Graffar’s modified method (Méndez and De Méndez, 1994) was applied to determine the participants’ socioeconomic status.  A descriptive analysis (frequency, percentages, mean) and an inferential analysis (one-way ANOVA) were applied to the data using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 9.0.  One of the most important findings in this study was the determination of a statistically significant relationship between dissatisfaction and body image and between low self-esteem and gender χ2 (2, N= 189) = 9.686, p=0.008.  Using ANOVA also helped determine that differences in the mean for dissatisfaction and low self-esteem levels with body image and gender are statistically significant, F= 11.236; p=0.008, F=10.23; p=0.002, respectively.  Conclusions: results obtained suggest a relationship between dissatisfaction and low self-esteem due to physical appearance. Consequently, subjects reject their body image because of a distorted or undistorted perception of their physical appearance, which can possibly affect self-esteem.  Moreover, it is observed that the students’ psychological health is more related to their satisfaction with their body-image than to the way their body image is perceived. Consequently, this group of participants must be analyzed regarding their self-esteem due to body image, as an expression in the institutional environment.  It is also important to emphasize that gender may be a risk factor concerning eating disorders.  We believe the foregoing because women showed higher dissatisfaction levels because of their physical appearance being conditioned by a higher dissatisfaction with their perceived body image, which is characterized by an overestimation of the physical dimension of their body image.