Stability of body image and body image dissatisfaction in American college students over about the last 15 years

Parent and child influence in body image dissatisfaction: The moderating effect of parent acceptance of the COVID-19 pandemic

The present study investigated the influence of parent and child-driven effects on body image dissatisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The moderating effect of parents' acceptance of the COVID-19 pandemic and child gender were also investigated. The participants were 175 Canadian parents (mothers = 87.4%, fathers = 12%, unspecified = 0.6%) of children aged between 7 and 12 years old (M = 9.2; boys = 48.9%, girls = 51.1%). Two cohorts of parents were asked to complete a questionnaire in June 2020 and January 2021, respectively, followed by a second questionnaire approximately five months later. At both time points, the questionnaires addressed the parents' body image dissatisfaction and acceptance of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, parents reported on their child's body image dissatisfaction at both time points. Path analysis models were used to examine parent-driven and child-driven effects. Parents' acceptance of the pandemic significantly moderated both parent and child-driven effects such that parents with low levels of acceptance were more likely to negatively influence, and be negatively influenced by, their perception of their child's body image dissatisfaction. Child gender significantly moderated child-driven effects, as mothers' perception of their son's body image dissatisfaction predicted their own dissatisfaction over time. Our findings suggest that child-driven effects should be considered in future studies on body image dissatisfaction.

Factors Affecting Body Image Discordance Amongst Korean Adults Aged 19-39 Years

Objectives

This study was designed to investigate factors affecting the discordance between body image and body mass index amongst Korean adults aged 19–39 years.

Methods

Data (N = 59,361) from the 2014 Korean Community Health Survey was analyzed using descriptive analysis, chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis.

Results

To examine the factors affecting body image discordance as observed in 43.1% of participants, the group was subdivided into underestimation and overestimation. There were 36.0% of participants that were body image discordant underestimators and 7.1% were overestimators. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the underestimators tended to be men, graduated from high school, married, current/ex-smokers, ex-drinkers, had between 5 to 9 hours sleep (inclusive), had fair to good self-rated health, and demonstrated healthy weight control behavior, relative to the reference group. In comparison, overestimators tended to be in the 19–29 year group and had signs of depression. The OR of individuals who were men, married, and had healthy weight control behavior was significantly lower in the overestimators group.

Conclusion

These findings show that tailored interventions to promote accurate body awareness should be based on the type of body image discordance. In addition, it is necessary to develop and implement a program of body image improvement that considers the factors affecting body weight discordance.

Insatisfação com a imagem corporal em estudantes universitários – Uma revisão integrativa

RESUMO Objetivo Caracterizar a insatisfação corporal entre estudantes universitários. Métodos Revisão integrativa da literatura nas bases de dados PubMed, Lilacs, Bireme, portal SciELO e banco de teses com descritores indexados com os critérios de inclusão: população exclusivamente universitária, apresentação de dados referentes à frequência/prevalência da insatisfação corporal e/ou a caracterização de fatores relacionados. Resultados Foram selecionados 76 estudos (40 nacionais e 36 internacionais). A amplitude de insatisfação de imagem corporal em ambos os sexos foi de 8,3% a 87% nos estudos nacionais, e de 5,2% a 85,5% nos internacionais, avaliados, principalmente, por meio de escalas de silhuetas e/ou questionários (como o Body Shape Questionnaire, o Eating Disorder Inventory, e o Body-Self Relations Questionnaire Appearance Scales). Os fatores como exposição à mídia e redes sociais, o período menstrual e a baixa autoestima foram relacionados à insatisfação corporal. Conclusão A insatisfação corporal é um fenômeno comum entre os universitários, mas apresentando grande amplitude dependendo do sexo, instrumento, método e objetivo do estudo. Padronização na avaliação do construto é necessária para melhor compressão e discussão do problema.

Changes in body image and dieting among 16-19-year-old Icelandic students from 2000 to 2010

The aim of the study was to evaluate trends in body image and dieting among 16-19-year-old students in Iceland from 2000 to 2010. Data from four cross-sectional surveys conducted among Icelandic students in 26 junior colleges using four time points were compared to examine changes in body image and dieting. In total, 33,801 students with the mean age of 17.3 years participated. Body image became significantly more positive over the 10-year period for both genders. At all time points, females reported more negative body image than males and a higher proportion of dieters were females than males. There was a decrease in the frequency of dieting among females over time but an increase among males, resulting in a narrower gender gap in dieting. Further examination of these trends in body image and dieting may reveal differences in causal mechanisms behind negative body image and dieting between the genders.

Body image trends among Icelandic adolescents: a cross-sectional national study from 1997 to 2010

The aim of this study was to evaluate trends in body image among Icelandic adolescents from 1997 to 2010. Data from five cross-sectional surveys conducted among national samples of 9th and 10th graders in Iceland using five time points (1997, 2000, 2006, 2009, and 2010) were compared to examine changes in body image. In total, 32,397 adolescents participated in the study. Body image among 14-15-year-old adolescents in Iceland improved significantly over the 13-year period. Girls reported more negative body image than boys at all time points. However, the positive change in body image from 1997 to 2010 was more pronounced for girls than boys, resulting in a narrower gap between the genders. The current results are encouraging and indicate that in an age of increased overweight and obesity, the body image of Icelandic adolescents is becoming more positive.

Correlates of weight instability across the lifespan in a population-based sample

OBJECTIVE

Research from overweight/obese clinical samples links weight instability to poor health. This study investigated whether negative health outcomes were associated with weight instability in a population-based sample.

METHOD

One thousand five hundred ten women and 1,111 men from the Mid-Atlantic Twin Registry completed questionnaires assessing demographics, body size in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, health satisfaction, and disordered eating. Noneating disorder psychiatric diagnoses were assessed via clinical interviews.

RESULTS

Weight instability was related to lower health satisfaction and self-esteem, and higher body dissatisfaction, dieting, and binge eating for both sexes. Weight unstable women were more likely to meet criteria for lifetime major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and eating disorders. Weight stable women were more likely to abuse alcohol; however, two of these associations [e.g. weight instability and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and weight stability and alcohol abuse] became nonsignificant once lifetime binge eating was accounted for, indicating that these forms of psychopathology are more strongly related to binge eating than weight instability itself. No associations between weight stability and psychiatric diagnoses were found in men.

DISCUSSION

Weight instability is related to mental and physical health concerns for both sexes. It was also specifically associated with depression and eating pathology in women.

Males and females show differential brain activation to taste when hungry and sated in gustatory and reward areas

Although males and females differ in eating behavior and prevalence rates for eating disorders and obesity, little is known about gender differences in cortical activation to pleasant and unpleasant pure tastes during the physiological states of hunger and satiety. Twenty-one healthy young adults (12 females and 9 males) underwent two functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Using four pure tastants of differing qualities (i.e., salty, sour, bitter, sweet), the present study examined gender differences in fMRI activation during two motivational states (hunger and satiety). There was greater change in fMRI activation from hunger to satiety in males than females in response to all tastes within the middle frontal gyrus (BA 10), insula, and cerebellum. Males also had greater change in activation from hunger to satiety, relative to females, in limbic regions including dorsal striatum, amygdala, parahippocampal gyrus, and posterior and anterior cingulate; however, activation was stimulus dependent, despite equivalent ratings in perceived pleasantness and intensity. Interestingly, males and females showed significant change from hunger to satiety in response to citric acid, suggesting that in addition to gender and physiological condition, stimulus quality is an important factor in taste fMRI activation. These gender differences may have implications for the pathophysiology of eating disorders and obesity.

Gender Differences in Perceptions of Weight and Body Image and Comparison to Recommended Weight among Adult Bermudians

The objective of this study was to determine adult Bermudians' perceptions of ideal weight, overweight, and body image and to decide if a discrepancy exists between their perceptions and World Health Organization standards. A cross-sectional survey of body weight perceptions was administered to 462 men ( n = 207) and women ( n = 255), 18–65 years of age and various body weights, living on the Island of Bermuda. Additionally, measurement of height, and weight was collected. There was a significant difference in mean current body mass index (BMI) between men ( M = 28.6, SD = 5.82), and women ( M = 30.1, SD = 6.80) ( p < .05). Significant gender differences were evident in mean self-perceived BMI, ideal BMI, and perceived body image. The data presented have important implications for understanding perceptions, knowledge, and beliefs concerning body weight and body image. Public health programs must stress to adults the correct definition of overweight and obesity acceptable by medical standards.

The adult body: how age, gender, and body mass index are related to body image

OBJECTIVE. Body image and perceived attractiveness were examined, and the impact of age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) was analyzed and discussed from an evolutionary and a sociocultural perspective. METHOD. The population-based sample consisted of 11,468 Finnish men and women aged 18 to 49 years. RESULTS. Both age-related decrease and increase in body satisfaction was detected as well as interactions between age and gender. Some effects were nonlinear. Women were generally less satisfied with their bodies than men. BMI had a stronger influence on women's body image than men's. DISCUSSION. It was proposed that it is insufficient to merely study how age affects general body image because adults might become more satisfied with some aspects of their bodies as a function of age and less satisfied with other aspects. Body satisfaction might also fluctuate during different phases of the adult life, and the patterns possibly differ between men and women.

Prevalence and magnitude of body weight and shape dissatisfaction among university students

Although prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing, prevailing sociocultural influences lead females to desire a thin body and males a muscular body, often resulting in body dissatisfaction (BD) because many cannot achieve the cultural ideal. This study examined the magnitude of BD in university undergraduates (n=310). Body weight dissatisfaction (BWD) was measured as the difference between current and idealized body weight; body shape dissatisfaction (BSD) as the difference between and current and idealized body shape. Overall, females expressed greater BD than males. Overweight individuals expressed the greatest BWD and BSD, yet half desired a weight that would maintain their overweight body mass index (BMI) classification. Normal weight females desired a slightly thinner, lighter body, while desires among normal weight males were mixed. Underweight females and normal weight males expressed little BWD and BSD, commonly idealizing a body weight maintaining their BMI classification. However, results may suggest a shift in body size ideals in an era of prevalent obesity, with overweight males and females expressing less BD and few normal weight individuals, particularly females, idealizing a very thin body.

Weight and its relationship to adolescent perceptions of their providers (WRAP): a qualitative and quantitative assessment of teen weight-related preferences and concerns

PURPOSE

To examine the relationship of body weight to satisfaction with care in adolescents, and to obtain qualitative data on preferences for general and weight-related medical care in normal weight and overweight adolescents.

METHODS

The Weight and its Relationship to Adolescent Perceptions of their Providers survey, a 4-page questionnaire containing previously validated satisfaction scales and open-ended qualitative questions regarding health care preferences, was administered to 62 severely overweight (body mass index [BMI] 38.9 +/- 8.4 kg/m2) and 29 normal weight (BMI 22.5 +/- 4.0 kg/m2) adolescents (age 13.9 +/- 1.7 years; 57% female; 50% Caucasian, 47% African-American, 3% Hispanic).

RESULTS

The affective subscale of the medical satisfaction scale was negatively correlated with BMI standard deviation score (r = -.22, p < .05). Multiple regression models predicting affective satisfaction with medical care included BMI standard deviation score; however, continuity with provider appeared to be the strongest independent predictor of affective satisfaction. Fifty-five percent of participants identified their mother as the person they felt most comfortable talking with about weight, although 68% believed their provider knew the most about healthy eating. "Overweight" was identified by 47% of participants as the preferred term for heavy teens. Seventy-nine percent of overweight adolescents stated their health care provider discussed their weight with them; however, only 41% of overweight adolescents desired to discuss their weight. Compared to normal-weight adolescents, overweight teens were more likely to report that their provider raised topics of weight (p < .001), diet (p < .01), and exercise (p < .01) at their last physical, and were more likely to report that they would have liked their provider to discuss diet and exercise (both p < .05). Ten percent of overweight teens expressed concerns regarding the public location of their provider's office scale.

CONCLUSIONS

Satisfaction with affective aspects of the provider-patient relationship is negatively correlated with BMI standard deviation score. Length of experience with one's provider is also a strong predictor of teen satisfaction with their medical care. Teens prefer the term "overweight" for those with high body weight. Sensitivity to confidentiality, privacy, and embarrassment regarding physical examination and weight are important for teen satisfaction.

A life course perspective: understanding food choices in time, social location, and history

A life course perspective provides a framework for understanding how food choices develop in changing temporal, social, and historical contexts. This article describes the application of life course concepts to food choices, including trajectories, transitions, turning points, lives in place and time, and timing of events in lives. A life course approach to food choice can contribute to understanding the social and biological pathways of health risk and resilience over the life span. Life course analysis is a useful research and practice tool because of the many ways in which foods, the individuals choosing them, and food choice environments are changing.

A cross-sectional study of changes in Norwegian adolescents' body image from 1992 to 2002

The present study examines changes in adolescents' body image over a 10-year period. Both satisfaction with appearance in general, and satisfaction with different aspects of appearance (e.g., face, muscle tone, and weight) are considered. We analyzed data from two general population studies of 13-19-year-old Norwegians, "Young in Norway 1992" (N = 10,460, response rate = 97.0%) and "Young in Norway 2002" (N =1 1,371, response rate = 92.3%). These studies used identical sampling procedures, data collection procedures, and measures of body image. The analyses showed a polarization in adolescents' body image - concurrent with an increase in the proportion of adolescents with a very negative body image, there was an increase in the proportion of adolescents with a very positive body image. The greater proportion of adolescents with a very negative body image could partly be explained statistically by the increased body mass index (BMI) in the same period. Girls had a more problematic body image than boys, both in 1992 and in 2002. Whether the strength of this gender difference changed or not depended on the aspect of appearance considered.

How Has Body Image Changed? A Cross-Sectional Investigation of College Women and Men From 1983 to 2001

Body-image dissatisfaction is not uncommon and can adversely affect individuals' psychosocial functioning and quality of life. Various oft-cited surveys and a meta-analysis implicate a worsening of body image over the past several decades, especially among women and possibly among men. The present cross-sectional study examined changes in multiple facets of body image among 3,127 college students from 1983 through 2001; the same standardized assessment was used in 22 studies conducted within the same university. Results confirmed non-Black women's increasing body-image dissatisfaction until the early or mid-1990s, after which significant improvements occurred in terms of overall body-image evaluation and overweight preoccupation among both non-Black and Black women, despite heavier body weights. A reduction over time in women's investment in their appearance was also evident. Men's body image was relatively stable during the 19-year period. Explanations, limitations, and implications of the findings are discussed.

Body image across three generations of Americans: inter-family correlations, gender differences, and generation differences

Three-hundred-and-eighty-one participants (undergraduates, their parents and grandparents) completed body image (BI; current minus ideal figure ratings) and dieting attitude measures. We found the usual gender gap in BI for the undergraduates (females' BI worse than males), but not for the parents and grandparents. This was due to males' worsening BI with age; females' BI did not differ across generations. The gender gap in dieting attitudes (females more likely to diet) also narrowed with increasing age (again due to males' changing attitudes), but remained significant across generations. In all three generations, females underestimated the size of the figure males found most attractive, whereas males overestimated the analogous figure for females. Finally, we found significant inter-family correlations for BI and dieting for all groups except undergraduate females. We discuss these results within cultural and evolutionary theoretical frameworks.

Measurement characteristics of weight concern and dieting measures in 8-10-year-old African-American girls from GEMS pilot studies

BACKGROUND

Reliability and validity were established for weight concern measures completed by 8-10-year-old African-American girls participating in a pilot obesity prevention program.

METHODS

Two hundred ten girls and parents participated in the program. Girls completed subscales of the McKnight Risk Factor Survey (MRFS) and body silhouette ratings, had height, weight, and body fat measured, wore accelerometers for 3 days, and completed two dietary recalls. Principal components analysis, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were computed for weight concerns and body image measures along with convergent validity with body mass index (BMI), percent body fat (PBF), physical activity, and dietary intake.

RESULTS

A Moderate Weight Control Behaviors (MWCB) subscale was derived from the MRFS. Overconcern with Weight and Shape (OWS) was a stand-alone scale. Internal consistency estimates for the scales were substantial ranging from 0.71 to 0.84. Test-retest reliabilities were moderate (0.45-0.58). OWS, MWCB, body silhouette rating, and body size discrepancy were positively associated with BMI and PBF. The "like to look" silhouette rating was negatively associated with PBF.

CONCLUSIONS

Weight concern measures had reasonable levels of internal consistency and promising validity, but only moderate test-retest reliability among preadolescent African-American girls. Refinement and further validation of weight concern measures in this population are warranted.