Abstract
BackgroundBody size attitudes and body image form early in life, and understanding the factors that may be related to the development of such attitudes is important to design effective body dissatisfaction and disordered eating prevention interventions. This study explored how fathers’ and mothers’ body size attitudes, body dissatisfaction, and dietary restraint are associated with the body size attitudes and body image of their 4-year-old sons and daughters.MethodsParticipants were 279 4-year-old children (46% boys) and their parents. Children were interviewed and parents completed questionnaires assessing their body size attitudes and related behaviours.ResultsSocially prescribed stereotypical body size attitudes were evident in 4-year-old boys and girls; however, prevalence of body dissatisfaction was low in this sample. Correlation analyses revealed that boys’ body size attitudes were associated with a number of paternal body image variables. In boys, attributing negative characteristics to larger figures and positive characteristics to thinner figures were associated with fathers having more negative attitudes towards obese persons. Attributing positive characteristics to larger figures by boys was associated with greater levels of paternal dietary restraint. In girls, attributing positive characteristics to thinner figures was only associated with greater maternal dietary restraint.ConclusionsFindings suggest the possibility that fathers’ body size attitudes may be particularly important in establishing body size attitudes in their sons. Further research is necessary to better understand the role of fathers in the development of children’s body size attitudes.
Highlights
Body size attitudes and body image form early in life, and understanding the factors that may be related to the development of such attitudes is important to design effective body dissatisfaction and disordered eating prevention interventions
For the 267 (98.9%) mothers who provided anthropometric information, Body Mass Index (BMI) ranged from 17.41 to 44.63 (M = 24.72, SD = 4.81), with 4.1% underweight, 56.6% normal weight, 27.0% overweight, and 12.4% obese according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria [40]
Additional Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests revealed that the mean figure selection for current figure was significantly thinner than the figure selected for positive characteristics for both boys and girls
Summary
Body size attitudes and body image form early in life, and understanding the factors that may be related to the development of such attitudes is important to design effective body dissatisfaction and disordered eating prevention interventions. Prescribed stereotypical body size attitudes, that is, attributing negative characteristics to larger body sizes and positive characteristics to thinner body sizes, have been consistently observed among very young children [1,2,3,4]. Such stereotypical body size attitudes have been associated with increased weight stigma and engaging in teasing and discrimination, and being a recipient of such behaviours may increase children’s vulnerability to experiencing low self-esteem, depression, and body dissatisfaction [5,6]. Parents have been proposed to influence their children in numerous ways: their expressed evaluations about their own and each other’s bodies may serve as models for children to critique themselves and others [12,13]; their engagement in behaviours, such as exercising and dieting activities, may model the importance of adhering to cultural body size ideals [8,14]; and their direct instruction, comments, appearance criticism, and teasing may reinforce cultural body ideals and body size stigma [8,15]
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