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PubMed1994

Childhood abuse, body image disturbance, and eating disorders.

Studies have suggested that women who experience child sexual abuse are at risk for developing symptoms related to anorexia nervosa and bulimia. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships among childhood sexual and physical abuse, body image disturbance, and eating disorder symptomatology. Of 670 female college students screened for childhood abuse, 29 sexually abused, 32 physically abused, and 29 nonabused women completed measures of eating disorder symptoms, psychological factors thought to be related to eating disorders, and body image distortion. Contrary to previous reports, there was no evidence that child sexual or physical abuse was associated with the development of body image disturbance. Furthermore, the results did not support the hypothesis that child sexual and physical abuse are related to eating disorder symptomatology. It is suggested that subjects who are victims of child sexual abuse and who are receiving psychotherapy manifest higher rates of a number of different types of psychopathology, including eating disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Effects of wellness, fitness, and sport skills programs on body image and lifestyle behaviors.

140 college women participating in one of three types of physical education classes (wellness, fitness, sport skills) responded to questions about body image, body-self relations, and lifestyle behaviors at the onset and conclusion of a 6-wk. program. Pre-post changes for the wellness classes involved the largest number of domains and included increased satisfaction with body and physical appearance, more positive assessment of physical fitness and health, higher orientation toward fitness and health, and reports of positive changes in lifestyle behaviors. Pre-post changes for the fitness classes were mainly in the fitness domain, including a more positive assessment of fitness, a higher orientation toward fitness, and an increase in fitness-oriented activities; increased satisfaction with body and physical appearance was also reported. Participation in sport-skills classes produced only one pre-post change, an increase in fitness-oriented activities. Possible reasons for the success of the wellness classes are discussed. Results suggest that participation in wellness classes provides students with a positive, proactive, empowered attitude toward their own health and well-being.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Body image distortion in non-eating disordered women and men.

This study of body image perception in 100 non-eating disordered women and men demonstrates that overperception of body widths, whilst accurately perceiving a neutral object, is not restricted to populations with eating disorders, nor is it peculiar to women. Men consistently overestimated body widths to the same extent as female subjects. Overall, 84% of women and 52% of men wished to weigh less. Considering those subjects within the 10% range of Mean Matched Population Weight (MMPW), men wished to be 0.75 kg heavier, whilst women at MMPW wished to weigh 3.25 kg less. For women, the subjects who were most satisfied with their actual weight were those who were well below MMPW. There is a tendancy that the greater the deviation of weight from normal, in either direction, the greater the degree of body width overestimation. These results suggest that the overperception of body width is more related to current weight than to concern about weight and shape, or to the presence or absence of an eating disorder. They question the use of empirical body size estimation measurement in eating disordered populations.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Body image in preoperative and postoperative lumbar laminectomy patients.

Many patients each year undergo a lumbar laminectomy for removal of a herniated disc. This study was conducted to determine if the patient had a change in body image from the preoperative to postoperative period. Body image was measured using the Body-Cathexis Scale. Twenty-four (24) patients were included in the study. Results indicated that there was a significantly higher difference in the total Body-Cathexis score postoperatively as compared to preoperatively. In addition, there was a significantly higher difference in the patients' ratings of back, knee, posture, energy level and sexual activity in the postoperative period. Further research is needed with a larger sample and over time to see whether these effects hold true.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Disturbances in body image estimation as related to other characteristics and outcome in anorexia nervosa.

Body image distortion in 79 female anorexia nervosa patients were examined on a visual-size estimation apparatus during the emaciated stage of illness. Both they and an age-matched female control group overestimated their body widths, so this overestimation cannot be considered unique to anorexia nervosa. Among anorexia patients the degree of overestimation was associated with less weight gain during treatment, greater denial of illness, and several other pretreatment characteristics indicative of poor outcome.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Preventing the broad spectrum of weight-related problems: working with parents to help teens achieve a healthy weight and a positive body image.

A spectrum of eating-, activity-, and weight-related concerns is presented that includes 5 dimensions (weight control practices, level of physical activity, body image, eating behaviors, and weight status) and different levels of severity within each of these dimensions. Multiple interacting factors contribute to the etiology of problems within each of these dimensions in adolescents at the individual, familial, peer, school, community, and societal levels. Families have an important role to play in reinforcing the positive influences at each of these levels and in filtering out the negative influences. Parents can help their children engage in more healthful eating and physical activity behavior and feel better about themselves through (1) role modeling healthful behaviors, (2) providing an environment that makes it easy for their children to make healthful choices, (3) focusing less on weight and more on behaviors and overall health, and (4) providing a supportive environment for their children to enhance communication. Families need to be proactive within our society, which works against the development of a healthy weight and a positive body image in children and adolescents. However, families cannot do it on their own and need support from the more distal environments within which they function.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Body image, social comparison, and eating disturbance: a covariance structure modeling investigation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of appearance-based social comparison processes as a possible mediational link between developmental factors (negative social feedback, i.e., teasing about appearance; biological status, i.e., early physical maturation) and levels of body dissatisfaction, eating disturbance, and global psychological functioning. METHOD: In this study of 173 female undergraduates, covariance structure modeling (CSM) was used to examine direct and mediational relationships among these variables. RESULTS: Appearance-based social comparison mediated the effect of appearance-related teasing on body image and eating disturbance; body image mediated the effect of teasing on eating disturbance; eating disturbance had a direct effect on overall psychological functioning. DISCUSSION: Implications for devising and testing other theoretical models are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Improving the body image, eating attitudes, and behaviors of young male and female adolescents: a new educational approach that focuses on self-esteem.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the effect of an interactive, school-based, self-esteem education program on the body image and eating attitudes and behaviors of young male and female adolescents following the program and after 12 months. METHOD: All 470 eligible students (63% female) aged 11-14 years volunteered to participate. The intervention group students participated in the program, whereas the control group students received their scheduled personal development and health class. RESULTS: The program significantly improved the body satisfaction of the intervention students and significantly changed aspects of their self-esteem; social acceptance, physical appearance, and athletic ability became less important for the intervention students and more important for control students. Female intervention students rated their physical appearance as perceived by others significantly higher than control students and allowed their body weight to increase appropriately by preventing the age increase in weight-losing behaviors of the control students. One year after the intervention, body image and attitude changes were still present. These findings also held for the 116 students (63% females) with low self-esteem and higher anxiety, who were considered at risk for the development of eating disorders. These students also had significantly lower drive for thinness and greater body satisfaction following the intervention and the decreased importance of physical appearance to their self-esteem was present at 12 months. Control at-risk students significantly decreased their body weight, whereas the weight of the intervention at-risk students significantly increased. The intervention program was effective, safe, having no effect on measures of students' anxiety or depression, and was rated highly by students. DISCUSSION: This is the first controlled educational intervention to successfully improve body image and to produce long-term changes in the attitudes and self-image of young adolescents. This new approach to prevent the development of eating disorders by improving self-esteem may be effective, particularly if reinforced by teachers and family.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Body image and food consumption: three laboratory studies of perceived calorie content.

Three studies are reported that measured body image and mood changes consequent to the consumption of a milkshake that differed in perceived number of calories (high vs. low). The pilot investigation on normal-weight college females produced an interaction between perceived calorie content (PCC) and time of testing--subjects who received the high-calorie shake overestimated body size and were more dysphoric at posttest than subjects who received the low calorie shake. Study 2 provided a credibility check that the pilot investigation failed to include and replicated the interaction between PCC and time of testing for size estimation accuracy. The effect was also found for an attitudinal measure of body satisfaction, but only a main effect of time eventuated for the mood measure. Study 3 compared subjects who differed on exercise status (runners vs. sedentary controls). In general, runners were less negatively affected by the high-calorie shake than controls, however, none of the hypothesized three-way interactions among group, PCC, and time of testing were significant. The findings are discussed in terms of the need to further experimentally investigate factors that affect different aspects of body image.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Body image and weight concerns among Southwestern American Indian preadolescent schoolchildren.

This study was undertaken to determine whether perceptions about body image and size vary by body mass index (BMI) and demographic factors among American Indian children in the Southwestern United States. We surveyed 1,996 American Indian schoolchildren in the fifth grade (mean age 10.5 +/- 0.7 years) at eleven rural elementary schools. Heights and weights were measured using standard protocol. Multiple linear regression models were developed for preferred body shape, desired body shape, and body satisfaction to determine association with demographic and physical factors. Results from multiple linear regression modeling indicated that BMI and gender influence body satisfaction, with heavier children and girls being less satisfied with their bodies (P<.001 and P<.05, respectively). Geographic isolation and lack of amenities in the home did not appear to affect body satisfaction or messages from others about being too fat or thin; however, geographically isolated students were more likely to choose a larger body shape as best looking. Girls of appropriate weight were 2.2 times more likely than boys to have been told they were too fat. Sixty-one percent of all students surveyed had tried to lose weight. These findings, although similar to those for non-Hispanic Whites of the same age, are contrary to prevailing ideas that American Indians value obesity. In fact, we observed a high level of body dissatisfaction among children of appropriate weight, particularly girls, and prevalent dieting across all weight categories and both genders.

Attitude↗
PubMed2004

Predictors of body image dissatisfaction and disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors in African American and Hispanic girls.

Disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors are widespread among girls in the United States. Because obesity is one of the leading risk factors for eating disorder development, African American and Hispanic girls may be at heightened risk due to their greater prevalence and degree of overweight. The present study examined the associations among disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors, body image dissatisfaction, weight classification, fears of negative evaluation, and coping skills among 139 African American and Hispanic girls in Grades 4 and 5 from a low-income urban area. African American girls had significantly lower body image dissatisfaction than Hispanic girls. Significant predictors of body image dissatisfaction included fear of negative evaluation and weight classification. Fear of negative evaluation was also a significant predictor of disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors. Overall, 10.1% of the African American girls and 12.7% of the Hispanic girls qualified for a diagnosis of a probable eating disorder. Girls with eating disorders had greater fears of negative evaluation and engaged in more cognitive avoidance. Both groups are at risk of eating disorder development.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1994

Self-esteem, body-image and weight in noneating-disordered women.

The self-esteem of 69 women attending weight-loss centres was examined in relation to attitudes towards body and weight, actual weight, number of diets undergone and weight fluctuations. Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale was used to measure self-esteem. Attitudes towards the body and weight were assessed using Freedman's Body-Love Questionnaire. The Body Mass Index was used as a weight-range classification for the women. Body image was assessed using the silhouette chart of Bell, Kirkpatrick, and Rinn. Women with stable weight had the highest self-esteem. The number of diets undertaken was associated with lowered self-esteem. High scores on evaluation of appearance were positively correlated with scores on self-esteem. No association was found between self-esteem and either eating restraint or significant others' attitudes. There was good agreement between the women's perceptions of their own bodies and independent raters' perceptions indicating a lack of body-image distortion for this non-eating-disordered group.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Media influences on body image and disordered eating among indigenous adolescent Australians.

There has been no previous investigation of body image concerns and body change strategies among indigenous Australians. This study was designed to investigate the level of body satisfaction, body change strategies, and perceived media messages about body change strategies among 50 indigenous (25 males, 25 females) and 50 non-indigenous (25 males, 25 females) Australian adolescents (mean age 14.05, SD = 1.05). Consistent with past studies, girls were more likely to be dissatisfied with their weight and engage in strategies to lose weight. However, contrary to expectations, indigenous adolescents engaged in more strategies to lose weight, increase weight, and increase muscles than did non-indigenous adolescents, despite perceiving fewer media messages about losing weight. Additional factors that may explain the findings and the need for further research with different cultural groups are highlighted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Methodological concerns when using silhouettes to measure body image.

This paper discusses methodological concerns of using silhouette figures to measure body images. These include concerns related to scale coarseness (limiting response options to one of a finite number of drawings), restriction of range, method of presentation, and scale of measurement. Recommendations are made to address these limitations, and an alternative silhouette scale using continuous scale measurements is proposed.

Body Image↗
PubMed1982

Body image of obese adolescent girls in a high school and clinical setting.

There have been many investigations of body image in cases of anorexia nervosa in adolescent females. However, there has been limited research with normal adolescent girls who happen to be overweight. In this study, 27 girls found to be obese (at least 20 percent above average body weight for age, sex and height) among 203 girls in home economics classes of four suburban high schools were compared to 20 girls seeking help for their obesity on an outpatient basis in hospital-affiliated programs for weight reduction in a nearby city. The two groups were assessed and compared regarding body image factors. The clinical subjects showed a significantly greater difference in their selection of outline drawings of the female figure perceived to represent their actual as compared to ideal body sizes. No significant difference was found in articulation of body concept as revealed in human figure drawings judged according to Witkin's Articulation of Body Concept (ABC) Scale, and in the mean number of uncomplimentary adjectives used to describe present appearance. However, the difference between the mean scores of the two groups in the latter two variables, when submitted to t tests, were shown to approach significance (.017 less than p less than .05).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Relationships between the Goodenough-Harris Draw-a-Person Test and a body-image test in Costa Rican children.

Although researchers have used drawings of the human figure to evaluate body-image in adults and children, test measures of the concepts involved have not been precisely constructed, so the purpose of this study was to estimate the body-image concept relations measured on the Goodenough-Harris Draw-a-Person Test and on the Prueba para Diagnóstico de Imagen Corporal--Universidad Nacional for 90 kindergarten, first and second graders. Factor analyses (sex by grade, 2 x 3; and sex by age, 2 x 7) showed that sex was not a significant factor on either measure, but grade and age were. A Pearson correlation for the total scores on both tests was a moderate, significant value of .45. Correlations of the total with subtest scores varied from .30 to .50. Values were strongest for first grade children from 6 to 6 1/2 yr. of age (.59 to .78), at the beginning of the developmental period in which children gradually gain an awareness of the parts of the body, their functions and left-right concepts.

Art↗