Thin Body Shape Research Articles

Fillet quality and gene transcriptome profiling of heart tissue of Atlantic salmon with pancreas disease (PD)

Pancreas disease (PD) caused by salmonid alphavirus (SAV) results in heavy economical losses for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) farms in Norway, largely due to mortality, poor performance of fish and deteriorated fillet quality. This study determined the fillet quality and heart gene transcriptome in farmed Atlantic salmon (2.2kg gutted weight) with varying PD pathology at slaughter: group A, SAV negative and PD negative; group B, SAV positive and PD negative; group C, SAV positive and PD positive. Gene expression and fillet quality characteristics of groups A and B were similar. Fish of group C had a thin body shape and pale and abnormally firm fillets with high collagen and low protein content, as well as an altered amino acid and fatty acid profile. They also had a marked reduction of energy metabolism and cell proliferation according to gene expression analyses. It is concluded that salmon infected with PD virus (SAV) may have acceptable fillet quality, but loss of pancreatic tissue may result in poor nutritional status of heart and muscle and unacceptable fillet quality. Hence such fish should not progress toward the market chain.

The effect of images of thin and overweight body shapes on women’s ambivalence towards chocolate

Many women experience ambivalent orientations towards chocolate, both craving for it and having concerns about eating it. The present study investigated the effect of viewing thin and overweight images of models in chocolate advertisements on ambivalent attitudes. Participants were 84 females, aged 17–63, allocated to a thin model condition, an overweight model condition, or a control group. As predicted, following exposure to their respective images, participants in the thin condition had increased avoidance, approach and guilt scores, while participants in the overweight condition had decreased approach and guilt scores, with no change in avoidance. Control participants demonstrated ambivalence, but no changes over time. The findings show that common advertising strategies for chocolate are likely to exacerbate ambivalence in female consumers.

A Study on the Dietary Habits and Health Consciousness of High School Students in Seoul

This study was conducted to examine the dietary behaviors with 510 high school students (260 males and 250 females) residing in Seoul. The average age of male and female students were 16.3 and 16.4 years old, respectively. Mean height and weight of male students were 174.1 cm and 65.9 kg and those of female students were 161.6 cm and 52.5 kg. The body mass index (BMI) of male and female students were and , respectively, which were within the normal range. Students skipped breakfast more than once a week were 41.1% of males and 44.4% of females. More than 40% of the male and female students skipped breakfast frequently. The mean mini dietary assessment index score of male and female students were 30.6 and 29.6 out of total 50 index scores, respectively. Female students perceived significantly less healthy and fatter than male students. Furthermore, body image satisfaction of the female students was lower than that of male students. Female students were more significantly concerned with body image and desired a thin body shape. Only 22.7% of male students and 6.4% of female students exercised regularly, and the frequency, time, and intensity of exercise in the male students were significantly higher than those of female students.

Body Shapes of Aged Women Applying 3D Body Scan Data

The purpose of this study is to classify body shapes of aged women by using 3D body scan data. For the body shape analysis and classification, 3D body scan data of 270 aged women were used, and 16 main measurements consisting of a human body were used to conduct factor analysis, cluster analysis and discriminant analysis. The analysis were performed on all 'the method using the absolute value', 'the method using index of height and weight', and 'the method using index of height', and according to the classification results, the method which categorizes body shapes best in terms of their shapes was adopted. As the factor analysis result using the numerical value of height to categorize the body shapes of the aged women, factor 1 was the thickness and width for the height, factor 2 was the height of the upper part of the body for the height, factor 3 was the height of hips for the height, and factor 4 was the height of belly for the height. When the body shapes were categorized with the deducted factors as variables, they were divided into two types. Type 1 was a short and fat body shape( type) and 55.6% of the subjects were of this type. Type 2 was for the body shape whose vertical height, including weight, was long but all kinds of width and thickness were small, that is, tall and thin body shape( type), and 44.4% of the aged women were in this case.

Research on the Wearing Sensations and Satisfaction of High School Girls Uniforms' Summer Blouses

This study is to present a female high school summer blouse with high movement functionality and satisfying appearance, surveyed the students for their understanding of summer blouse. Experimental study's research method was questionnaire survey. By using questionnaires, the satisfaction and comfort of each region of the current worn summer blouse was analyzed. The results of this research are as follows. After surveying 371 high school students in the Daejeon region on the currently worn summer blouse comfort levels, 48.4% showed dissatisfaction about the width of the sleeves and the armpits and over 93% wanted the use of elastic materials as an alternative. After investigating the summer blouses' mending state, 41% of students that mending their clothes chose the alternation of reducing the overall silhouette of the blouse in all areas. This reflects the female high school students' mentality that thin body shape is the ideal.

Social Comparison and Its Relation to Body Dissatisfaction in Bulimia Nervosa: Evidence From Eye Movements

To determine the role of social comparison for body dissatisfaction in bulimia nervosa (BN). Previous research suggested that exposure to media content idealizing thin body shape decreases body satisfaction, particularly in women with eating disorder symptoms. This might be due to the negative outcome of social comparisons with media models, and women with eating disorders might be particularly susceptible because they engage in upward social comparison more frequently than women without these symptoms. However, no study has yet explored both upward (i.e., toward more attractive others) and downward (i.e., toward less attractive others) social comparisons and their impact on body dissatisfaction in a clinical eating disorder and healthy controls. We presented patients with BN (n = 20) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 22) with slides comprising a digitized image of their own body alongside comparison bodies with higher and lower body mass indices (BMIs) while measuring their eye movements. As hypothesized, patients with BN fixated longer on comparison bodies with lower BMIs than controls, with the reverse pattern for high BMI bodies. This gaze pattern suggests that upward comparisons were more prevalent in the BN group. Furthermore, upward comparisons were related to a drop in body satisfaction in the BN group. Disadvantageous social comparison strategies might be related to body dissatisfaction and therefore to the maintenance of BN.

A Female Homo erectus Pelvis from Gona, Ethiopia

Analyses of the KNM-WT 15000 Homo erectus juvenile male partial skeleton from Kenya concluded that this species had a tall thin body shape due to specialized locomotor and climatic adaptations. Moreover, it was concluded that H. erectus pelves were obstetrically restricted to birthing a small-brained altricial neonate. Here we describe a nearly complete early Pleistocene adult female H. erectus pelvis from the Busidima Formation of Gona, Afar, Ethiopia. This obstetrically capacious pelvis demonstrates that pelvic shape in H. erectus was evolving in response to increasing fetal brain size. This pelvis indicates that neither adaptations to tropical environments nor endurance running were primary selective factors in determining pelvis morphology in H. erectus during the early Pleistocene.

Adolescent girls' and boys' weight-related health behaviors and cognitions: Associations with reputation- and preference-based peer status.

In this study, the authors examined associations between preference- and reputation-based peer status and weight-related behaviors and cognitions for both adolescent boys and girls. Sociometric measures of peer like-ability and peer-perceived popularity, as well as self-reported measures of body size, dieting behavior, and weight-related cognitions were collected from a sample of 441 adolescents in Grades 11 and 12. Results revealed weight-related cognitions for girls (concerning obesity) and boys (concerning musculature/fitness). Peer-perceived popularity, but not like-ability, was significantly associated with both boys' and girls' body size and dieting. Lower levels of popularity were associated with heavier body shapes for girls and with both thin and heavier body shapes for boys. Findings suggest that peer status is an important source of social reinforcement associated with weight-related behaviors and cognitions.

Attentional bias for negative self-words in young women The role of thin ideal priming and body shape dissatisfaction

Previous research suggests that body dissatisfied women are particularly susceptible to negative affect following exposure to thin media images, whereas body satisfied women may even respond positively to such images. It was thus hypothesised that negative self-referent information would be more accessible in body dissatisfied women than in women satisfied with their bodies after viewing thin ideal images. Such activation of negative self-schemata was expected to be reflected through delayed colour-naming of negative self-referent words on the emotional Stroop task. Eighty-seven young women were randomised either to a thin ideal priming condition or a neutral priming condition, before undergoing an emotional Stroop task with performance-related and interpersonal-related threat words. There was a significant interaction between body dissatisfaction and thin ideal priming on attentional bias for performance words. This effect was most clearly seen in the body satisfied group, who were faster to colour-name performance words after priming. Further, this group showed an increase in self-esteem after testing. These findings may suggest that body satisfied women responded positively to thin ideal images. Alternatively, the facilitation effect of negative performance words may have been indicative of strategic avoidant processing serving to protect against negative impact of thin ideal exposure.

The female athlete triad.

The Female Athlete Triad is a syndrome of the interrelated components of disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. Sometimes inadvertently, but more often by willful dietary restriction, many female athletes do not ingest sufficient calories to adequately fuel their physical or sport activities, which can disrupt menstrual functioning, thereby increasing their risk of bone loss. Although its prevalence is unknown, the Female Athlete Triad is believed to affect many athletes at all ages and all sport competition levels. Even though the Triad affects athletes in all sports, girls and women in sports that emphasize a thin or small body size or shape appear to be most at risk. This article focuses on the risks of the Female Athlete Triad for middle- and high-school-age female athletes as well as the unique issues related to the identification, management, and treatment of the various components of the Triad in this special adolescent subpopulation.

Perfectionism, low self-esteem, and family factors as predictors of bulimic behavior

A previous study found that self-reported body dissatisfaction, depression, and peer pressure to maintain a thin body shape were significant predictors of bulimic behavior in college women, but that family functioning was not a significant predictor [ Eat. Behav. 2 (2001) 323]. The current study examined whether perfectionism, low self-esteem, and a more specific family variable—perceived pressure from the family to be thin—predicted any additional variance in eating-disordered behavior after significant variables from the previous study had been taken into account. As in the previous study, self-reported body dissatisfaction, depression, and peer pressure to maintain a thin body shape were significant predictors of bulimic behavior. Perceived weight-related pressure from the family was also a significant predictor. In contrast, high parental expectations were found to predict lower levels of bulimic behavior and to moderate the effects of peer influence on bulimic behavior. The variables found in this study to be related to bulimic behavior may be useful targets for clinical intervention for women with disturbed eating patterns.

Perfectionism, low self-esteem, and family factors as predictors of bulimic behavior

A previous study found that self-reported body dissatisfaction, depression, and peer pressure to maintain a thin body shape were significant predictors of bulimic behavior in college women, but that family functioning was not a significant predictor [Eat. Behav. 2 (2001) 323]. The current study examined whether perfectionism, low self-esteem, and a more specific family variable—perceived pressure from the family to be thin—predicted any additional variance in eating-disordered behavior after significant variables from the previous study had been taken into account. As in the previous study, self-reported body dissatisfaction, depression, and peer pressure to maintain a thin body shape were significant predictors of bulimic behavior. Perceived weight-related pressure from the family was also a significant predictor. In contrast, high parental expectations were found to predict lower levels of bulimic behavior and to moderate the effects of peer influence on bulimic behavior. The variables found in this study to be related to bulimic behavior may be useful targets for clinical intervention for women with disturbed eating patterns.

Sociocultural Idealization of Thin Female Body Shapes: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Body Image and Eating Disorders

Sociocultural pressure on women to be thin has been blamed for the development of eating disorders. Despite decades of research, however, it is still not clear why a few women exposed to these pressures develop eating disorders, but most women in the society do not. The media are often blamed for spreading the message that women must be thin, and for making women feel badly about themselves. This view seems overly simplistic, however, ignoring the fact that women voluntarily expose themselves to thin media images, that such exposure can actually be pleasurable, and that most women exposed to this message do not develop eating disorders. The sociocultural model of eating disorders needs further study and refinement, and the studies in this special issue represent steps in that process.

The Female Athlete Triad

The Female Athlete Triad is a syndrome of the interrelated components of disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. Sometimes inadvertently, but more often by willful dietary restriction, many female athletes do not ingest sufficient calories to adequately fuel their physical or sport activities, which can disrupt menstrual functioning, thereby increasing their risk of bone loss. Although its prevalence is unknown, the Female Athlete Triad is believed to affect many athletes at all ages and all sport competition levels. Even though the Triad affects athletes in all sports, girls and women in sports that emphasize a thin or small body size or shape appear to be most at risk. This article focuses on the risks of the Female Athlete Triad for middle-and high-school-age female athletes as well as the unique issues related to the identification, management, and treatment of the various components of the Triad in this special adolescent subpopulation.

The narrow range of acceptable body types of preschoolers and their mothers

Similarities and differences in perceptions of ideal, aversive, and acceptable body shapes were investigated for both preschool children and their mothers. Also, the relationship of these attitudes to mothers' ideas about feeding their children was examined. Figure array ratings were obtained from 42 preschool children and 28 of their mothers for current, ideal, aversive, and acceptable body shapes. Mothers also completed the Child Feeding Questionnaire “Restriction” and “Pressure to eat” subscales. Children had a less restricted view of acceptable body shapes than did their mothers. Mothers who found fewer body shapes acceptable for their child reported using more restrictive feeding practices with their children. Although there is evidence that attitudes favoring a thin body shape begin in preschool, the children in the current study were not as restricted in this as were their mothers. The results highlight the challenges of conveying healthy ideas to children about weight while avoiding unrealistic ideals of thinness.

Using foods as CSs and body shapes as UCSs: A putative role for associative learning in the development of eating disorders

The present paper reports the results of two experiments exploring possible changes in the affective ratings of foodstuffs as a result of their pairing with pictures of differing types of female body shapes. Experiment 1 reports the results of a visual evaluative conditioning (EC) experiment in which pictures of foodstuffs (CSs) were paired with pictures of either obese, normal, or thin female body shapes (UCSs). The results suggested that selective EC effects could be obtained when pictures of foods were used as CSs and pictures of different body shapes as UCSs. Specifically, pairing obese body shape UCSs with food CSs resulted in a significant postconditioning negative evaluative shift in those foods. Experiment 2 suggested that the selective conditioning effects found in Experiment 1 could be explained in part by an a priori CS-UCS expectancy bias in which participants exhibited a significantly greater bias towards expecting food CSs to be paired with obese rather than thin body shape UCSs. These findings have implications for our understanding of eating disorders, and, in particular, how conditioned shifts in the affective valences of food-stuffs can occur through their pairing with particular types of negatively valenced body images.

Social Comparison and Women's Body Satisfaction

Exposure to pictures of thin-ideal female members of the media has been shown to reduce body satisfaction in women, which in turn has been implicated in various eating disorders. This experiment was designed principally to determine how social comparisons with peers affect general self-esteem, body satisfaction, confidence, and anxiety. In a "dating game" scenario, female undergraduates (N = 67) were randomly assigned to a thin-peer, oversize-peer, or control (no-photo) condition. Through computer manipulation, photos depicted the same woman's face with either a thin or oversize body shape. Results indicated comparison condition did not affect general self-esteem. However, exposure to the thin peer did reduce body satisfaction and confidence and, for those without a boyfriend, raised anxiety. Exposure to an oversize peer produced no compensatory, elevating effects on body satisfaction and confidence. Such an asymmetric comparison effect may contribute to the high prevalence of body dissatisfaction reported among women.

Social Comparison and Women's Body Satisfaction

Exposure to pictures of thin-ideal female members of the media has been shown to reduce body satisfaction in women, which in turn has been implicated in various eating disorders. This experiment was designed principally to determine how social comparisons with peers affect general self-esteem, body satisfaction, confidence, and anxiety. In a dating game scenario, female undergraduates (N = 67) were randomly assigned to a thin-peer, oversize-peer, or control (no-photo) condition. Through computer manipulation, photos depicted the same woman's face with either a thin or oversize body shape. Results indicated comparison condition did not affect general self-esteem. However, exposure to the thin peer did reduce body satisfaction and confidence and, for those without a boyfriend, raised anxiety. Exposure to an oversize peer produced no compensatory, elevating effects on body satisfaction and confidence. Such an asymmetric comparison effect may contribute to the high prevalence of body dissatisfaction reporte...

Elite athletes: Effects of the pressure to be thin

This study represented the first attempt to examine the prevalence of eating disorders in a large sample of both male and female elite athletes compared to a matched control group of non-athletes. The subjects were 263 Australian elite athletes representing a variety of sports, and 263 non-athletes. All subjects were interviewed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and completed a number of self-report questionnaires. Both male and female athletes competing in sports that emphasise a lean body shape or a low body weight evidenced a significantly higher prevalence of eating disorders and eating disorder symptoms than other athletes and non-athletes. The results suggest that athletes do, in fact, have a higher prevalence of eating disorders than non-athletes. However, it is not so much being an athlete that places an individual at increased risk for developing an eating disorder; rather it is athletes competing in sports which emphasise the importance of a thin body shape or a low body weight who appear to be particularly vulnerable.

Developmental issues in attitudes to food and diet.

As a rule, children and most adults eat what they like and leave the rest. They like and consume foods high in fat and sugar. Parental behaviour shapes food acceptance, and early exposure to fruit and vegetables or to foods high in energy, sugar and fat is related to children's liking for, and consumption of, these foods. Some parents are imposing child-feeding practices that control what and how much children eat. However, over-control can be counter-productive, teaching children to dislike the very foods we want them to consume, and generally undermining self-regulation abilities. The external environment is also important, with concerns expressed about food advertising to children and girls dieting for an ideal thin body shape. Up to one-quarter of young adolescent girls report dieting to lose weight, their motivation driven by weight and shape dissatisfaction. For some, dieting and vegetarianism are intertwined and both legitimised as healthy eating. For others, striving for nutritional autonomy, the choice of less-healthy foods is not just because of their taste, but an act of parental defiance and peer solidarity. The determinants of what children choose to eat are complex, and the balance changes as children get older. A better understanding is crucial to informing how we might modify nutritional behaviour. Adults occupy a central position in this process, suggesting that children should be neither the only focus of nutritional interventions nor expected to solve the nutritional problems with which adults around them are continuing to fail.