Body Image Factors Research Articles

Comorbidity between depression and disordered eating in adolescents

Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders seen in adolescence. Low self-esteem, lack of social support and poor body image have been found to be risk factors for depression. However, these risk factors have not adequately explained why adolescent female rates of depressive episodes rise to almost twice that of males. This study had three purposes. The first is to identify the prevalence and comorbidity of depressive and disordered eating symptoms in a sample of high school students. The second is to examine predictors of depressive and disordered eating symptoms. Finally, a model predicting depressive symptoms is examined. Significant depressive and disordered eating symptomatology and a high level of comorbidity were observed in this sample. Predictors of depressive and disordered eating symptoms were similar for both genders. Finally, a model predicting depressive symptoms, via body image factors, was found to be supported in both boys and girls. The results of this study suggest that males and females are more similar than different, regarding predictors of depressive symptoms and disordered eating symptoms.

Recognition of body image and food behavior factors among middle school students in San Francisco area

The purpose of this study was to determine the recognition of body image and food behavior factors according to the BMI. The subjects of this study were 242 7th grade students resided in San Francisco area. The degree of recognition for self-estimated physique of subjects by gender and by race showed no significant differences by gender but significant differences by race, showing that 20.0% was considered as underweight in Asian and 7.5% was considered as underweight in White students. This showed the same tendency as actual physique status (BMI). Also, the ratio of being recognized as more than overweight was 17.3% in Asian, 23.3% in Hispanic, and 13.4% in White students. In case of female students, the ratio of dieting experience was 63.3%, and 49.3% of White students and 63.3% of Hispanic students experienced dieting. In case of students answered not healthy, their body weight were significantly higher than those answered as healthy, and the BMI was also over 19, showing significant differences. Thus cases that answered as not healthy had greater body weight and BMI. Also it showed that frequent dieting experience is related to higher height and weight. The analysis of food behavior factors perceived by body shape showed that the group perceived itself as overweight consumed more 'fast food' but had low scores in 'vegetables' intake, with frequent intake of 'soda' and tendency to 'overeat'. Also, the tendency for 'balanced life' was significantly lower and for skipping breakfast was significantly higher, suggesting problematic food behavior.

P78: The Body Image of Taiwanese Adolescent Girls

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influencing factors of female adolescent's body image. One thousand nine hundred and three (n = 1903) female adolescents, age 12-18, from 12 middle schools and 12 high schools completed the questionnaire delivered by teachers in the classroom. The body image was measured with Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BEASS) and the Body-Areas Satisfaction subscale of The Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ). The relationships between adolescent's body image and individual physical and psychological variables (school level, actual body shape, expected body shape, self-esteem, teasing experience due to body shape, career planning related to appearance), family variables (family socioeconomic status, family concern, parents' monitoring, family communication), significant others variables (adoration of model's figure, body shape viewed by significant others, encouragement of weight loss by significant others) were studied with stepwise multiple regression analysis.

Weight concerns, body image, depression and anxiety in Swedish adolescents

Objectives To assess weight problems and correlates in respect of body image, depression, anxiety and demographic background factors. Method 405 Swedish adolescents were assessed in respect of Body Mass Index (BMI), biographical data, the Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BESAA), the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) and the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Results Boys were in the positive and girls in the negative direction from ideal BMI for age and gender. Girls and boys differed in respect of CDI, MASC and of BESAA where girls generally were shifted in the “pathological” direction. Discussion The adolescents' own positive attitude to slimness, negative mood (girls), and anxiety symptoms that reflect social fears (boys) and physical aspects of anxiety (girls and boys) were important correlates of lower BMI than ideal. Adolescent cultural norms need to be addressed in preventive work. However, in girls' separation anxiety might be a protective factor against underweight. In girls, overweight seems to be associated with negative self-esteem.

Outcomes associated with hypogonadism in women with chronic kidney disease

Outcomes associated with hypogonadism in women with chronic kidney disease

Body image, maternal-fetal attachment, and choice of infant feeding method: a study in taiwan.

Many factors contribute to a pregnant woman's choice of infant feeding method, yet few studies have investigated which factors might be specific to pregnant women in Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among factors of body image, maternal-fetal attachment, and the choices made by pregnant Taiwanese women about infant feeding method. One hundred and ninety-five pregnant women were recruited during their third trimester at five hospitals in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Participants completed three questionnaires, including a demographic data form, an attitude to body image scale, and a modified maternal-fetal attachment scale. The results of stepwise logistic regression indicated that the best subset for predicting the criterion variable of breastfeeding intention included higher level of education, primiparity, and a higher level of maternal-fetal attachment. Maternal-fetal attachment, education, and parity are predictive of intended infant feeding method by pregnant women who choose breastfeeding, thereby adding to existing knowledge of the factors involved in feeding method choices of Taiwanese women. Further research should incorporate maternal-fetal attachment into a supportive model of breastfeeding.

Body image and physical activity among black university students in South Africa

The purpose of this research is to identify and understand factors of body image influencing physical exercise behaviour among black South African women and men. There were 289 participants, 189 women and 100 men chosen from non-health sciences courses in a class setting. Results indicated that more than a third of the participants indicated that they had engaged three or more times a week in vigorous physical activity. More than one-third (35%) of the women were overweight or obese and a quarter of the men (25%) were underweight. Physical activity was strongly associated with appearance evaluation, fitness orientation, fitness evaluation, health orientation and weakly associated with appearance orientation and illness orientation. BMI was associated with overweight preoccupation and self-classified weight. Fitness orientation, health evaluation and body areas satisfaction were associated with ideal weight preferences. Key words: Body image, physical activity, black women and men, South Africa. (Af. J. Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance: 2003 9(2): 207-216)

Psychological aspects of menopause management.

The influence of endocrine function on the mood of the menopausal woman continues to be debated and researched. While many women present at the menopause with depression and anxiety, the reasons for these mood disorders cannot be attributed to menopause status alone. The influence of psychological factors, lifestyle, body image, interpersonal relationships, role, and sociocultural factors in predicting levels of depression and anxiety in the menopausal patient cannot be ignored. This chapter discusses the research to date on menopause and depression and anxiety. Included is a discussion of the role of psychosocial factors in the symptomatology of perimenopausal, post-menopausal and prematurely menopausal women. The importance of understanding the individual menopausal experiences of women within the context of their lives while offering support, education, and validation is highlighted. The need for a multidimensional approach to treating the menopausal woman who presents with mood disorders is examined. Finally, this chapter makes it clear that psychosocial aspects of menopause management require further research, particularly on the experiences of women who enter menopause prematurely.

Body Image, Race, and Fashion Models

The perceived effects of advertising on body-image factors were tested in both Black and White college-age women. After seeing magazine ads that portrayed either Black fashion models or White fashion models, respondents rated perceived effects of these ads on body-image factors. The effects were rated on self, on other Black women on campus, and other White women on campus. When projecting perceived effects on others—of the same race or a different race—both Blacks and Whites indicated that media effects would be maximal when the race of the model matched the race of the respondent. However, when rating perceived effects on self, whereas Blacks identified strongly with Black models, there was no significant difference in the way Whites identified with fashion models of either race. The results are examined within the framework of social distance and social identification.

Fertility and Contraception in End-Stage Renal Disease

The hormonal aberrations that occur with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are presented in this review in relation to fertility and conception among women on dialysis. The imbalance in gonadotropin production in dialysis-dependent men and women is characterized by elevations in luteinizing hormone (LH). In women dialysis patients, the normal estradiol-stimulated LH surge does not occur, resulting in anovulation. In men dialysis patients spermatogenesis is impaired, and low testosterone levels cause elevated LH. Infertility in those with ESRD is a culmination of many factors, including impotence and loss of libido, anovulation, and an altered hormonal milieu. Despite these inhibitors of conception, women on dialysis can conceive; pregnancy has been reported in 1% to 7% of women on dialysis in survey studies. The influence of dialysis mode (hemodialysis v peritoneal dialysis), recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO), and dialysis adequacy on the likelihood of conception among patients of either sex on dialysis is unknown. Reduced sexual activity and interest has consistently been reported in the ESRD population. The reasons for this are complex and likely involve the effects of comorbid illnesses, overall health status, body image factors, and hormonal alterations. Nephrologists rarely discuss conception and contraception with their women dialysis patients. Greater attention to these issues is needed.

Body image, psychiatric comorbidity, and psychobiological factors in the eating disorders

Body image, psychiatric comorbidity, and psychobiological factors in the eating disorders

Women's use of cosmetics: psychosocial correlates and consequences

Synopsis Few systematic studies have examined individual differences in women's use of facial make-up or the possible psychosocial effects of such use. In the present investigation, the researchers developed several measures of the amount and the situational and temporal patterning of cosmetics use. Among forty-two female college students, differential use was associated with a number of selected personality variables-public self-consciousness, public body-consciousness, social anxiety, and various body-image factors. Through the imagery-induction of cosmetics use and non-use conditions, cosmetics users' self-evaluative responses were studied. In a variety of imagined situations, subjects reported being more self-confident and sociable when wearing as opposed to not wearing their customary cosmetics. Findings were discussed in the context of the role of cosmetics in self-image enhancement and social impression management.

Aspects of body image perception in obese and normal-weight youngsters.

Perceptual and projective aspects of body image in obese youngsters (not in psychological treatment) and normal-weight youngsters 8-9 years of age and 12-13 years of age were investigated. The results indicate that perceptual distortions in estimating various body dimensions of oneself are primarily a function of age rather than weight status. The accuracy of estimating the weight of peers and an adult showed an association with the sex of the subject. No group differences were found in terms of projective aspects of body image as measured by barrier and penetration responses. This study suggests that obese youngsters in the middle childhood and entering puberty periods in comparison to normal-weight youngsters of the same age do not manifest differences in perceptual factors of body image.