Establishing the optimal body mass index - body esteem relationship in young adolescents

Body Esteem in a Western Australian Cleft Lip and/or Palate Cohort Across 3 Age Groups

Objectives:

To determine if patients with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) from a Western Australian (WA) cohort were more dissatisfied with their body esteem than a normative non-cleft cohort, and identify demographic variables that may have significant associations with body esteem.

Design:

Questionnaire study using the Body-Esteem Scale (BES) and Cleft Research Questionnaire (CRQ).

Participants:

Self-selected participants from a Western Australian CL/P population across 3 age groups (n=359).

Main outcome measures:

The BES is comprised of 3 factors: BE-Appearance, BE-Weight and BE-Attribution. Study mean BES factor scores were compared to normative non-cleft scores. Regression analysis was used to determine significant associations within each age group between BES factor scores and CRQ variables of: gender, self-reported body weight category, cleft type and importance of facial appearance rating.

Results:

Study mean BE-Attribution scores were significantly lower than the normative scores and significantly lower than the mean BE-Appearance and BE-Weight factor scores within the same age groups of this study. Having a cleft type of lip and palate, being overweight, and placing a high importance on facial appearance had significant negative associations with BES scores. Maintaining a normal body weight and placing a lower level of importance on facial appearance had significant positive associations. Gender had no significant associations.

Conclusion:

In this study, the attribution aspect of body esteem had a greater negative impact on patients than their appearance and body weight. This has important implications for clinical treatment and support of patients.

Is Underweight Associated with more Positive Body Image? Results of a Cross-Sectional Study in Adolescent Girls and Boys

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between body image and prevalence of underweight, normal weight, and overweight in adolescents. The study included 1702 girls and 1547 boys, aged 14–16 years, who completed questionnaire assessing body satisfaction. The participants’ BMI status: underweight, normal weight or overweight was determined on the basis of BMI cut-off values. Results revealed that more girls (p < .001) showed low body satisfaction (44.8%) and fewer girls (p < .001) had high body satisfaction (17.6%) compared to boys (28.5% and 29.0%, respectively). A two-way ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between BMI status and gender on body satisfaction F(2, 3243) = 4.10, p = .017, η2 = .003. In boys, body satisfaction was higher in normal weight and underweight in comparison to overweight individuals (p < .001). Underweight girls presented higher body satisfaction than those who were normal weight and overweight (p < .001). Our findings indicated that, in relation to gender, BMI status can be associated with different body satisfaction in adolescents. This should be taken into consideration when designing programs aimed at obesity and disordered eating prevention and body image improvement. Due to the fact that underweight girls and boys have high body satisfaction, this can lead to behaviors that maintain low body weight in adolescents and in turn this may have negative health consequences.