Influence of the Mass Media and Body Dissatisfaction on the Risk in Adolescents of Developing Eating Disorders.

Francisco Nataniel Macedo Uchôa,Natalia Macêdo Uchôa,Romario Primeiro Lustosa,Nuno Domingos Garrido,Nilton Alves,Naira Figueiredo Deana,Thiago Medeiros Da Costa Daniele,Ágata Cristina Marques Aranha

doi:10.3390/ijerph16091508

Abstract

Media influence may lead adolescents to internalize patterns of physical beauty, resulting in dissatisfaction with their own bodies when they are unable to match up to these patterns. In the constant search for an ‘ideal body’, adolescents may begin to develop risk behaviors for the development of eating disorders (ED). The object of this study was to analyze the influence of the mass media on body dissatisfaction (BD) and on ED in adolescents, comparing genders. We also analyzed the influence of BD on the risk of developing unsuitable eating behaviors, with risk of ED, comparing genders. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 1011 adolescents: 527 girls and 484 boys. The BMI of each adolescent was determined, and the instruments EAT-26, Sociocultural Attitudes towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3), and body shape questionnaire (BSQ), were applied. For statistical analysis, we used Student’s t-test, the chi-square test, Pearson’s correlation test, the odds ratio, and hierarchical multiple linear regression. The influence of the mass media is associated with a greater probability of adolescents presenting BD. An increase in BD is associated with an increased risk of developing ED in adolescents of both genders but is greater in girls than in boys. Furthermore, the influence of the MM and BMI are predictors of BD in both genders; and BD is a predictor of ED risk in both girls and boys.

Highlights

Body image (BI) refers to the perceptions, thoughts, and feelings of individuals with respect to their bodies [1]
We observed that the values for all the subscales of Sociocultural Attitudes towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3) were higher for girls than boys, showing that they are more strongly influenced by the media
The influence of the mass media is associated with a greater probability of adolescents presenting

Summary

Introduction

Body image (BI) refers to the perceptions, thoughts, and feelings of individuals with respect to their bodies [1]. The social pressure generated by the communication mass media (MM) propagates the idea that it is necessary to achieve an ‘ideal of beauty’, emphasizing thinness for women and muscular bodies for men [9]; the MM often associate professional and personal success with the ‘perfect body’ [10]. The media disseminate a pattern of beauty which may be difficult to achieve for many people [11,12]; internalization of this ideal of beauty appears to play a mediating role between sociocultural pressure and the development of BD [13]. A distorted image of the ‘ideal body’ associated with a feeling of dissatisfaction with oneself may lead to disordered eating habits, compromising adolescents’ health [14]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion