Body dissatisfaction, engagement in body change behaviors and sociocultural influences on body image among Chinese adolescents

Equivalência Semântica da versão em português do "Body Change Inventory"

Com o crescimento das pesquisas acerca dos componentes da imagem corporal, fazem-se necessários instrumentos válidos que avaliem suas dimensões. O Body Change Inventory (BCI) avalia as estratégias adotadas para modificação do corpo entre adolescentes. O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever o processo de tradução e avaliação da equivalência semântica do BCI para a língua portuguesa. O processo envolveu as etapas de (1) tradução do questionário para o idioma português; (2) retrotradução para o inglês; (3) avaliação da equivalência semântica; e, (4) análise da compreensão verbal por especialistas e jovens brasileiros. As seis subescalas que compõem o instrumento foram traduzidas para o português. Foram realizadas adaptações na linguagem a fim de tornar o instrumento adequado à realidade brasileira. As questões foram interpretadas como de fácil compreensão tanto por especialistas quanto pelos jovens. O Questionário de Mudança Corporal encontra-se traduzido e adaptado para o idioma português, sendo ainda necessária a avaliação das equivalências operacional, de mensuração e funcional.

Body satisfaction among adolescents in eight different countries

The current study examined body satisfaction and the value of body size among adolescents in Australia, Fiji, Malaysia, Tonga, Tongans in New Zealand, China, Chile and Greece. In total, 2489 adolescent females and 2152 males participated in the study. The results demonstrated that males were more satisfied with their body than females. Males generally had a lower BMI than females, except for males in China and Malaysia. Attitudes towards large bodies for males and females varied by cultural group. These results demonstrate the strong cultural similarities in body satisfaction, but the differences that occur in relation to a large body.

Factors Influencing Need for Cosmetic Surgery among High School Girls

PURPOSE

The increase of cosmetic surgery procedures is partly motivated by more positive attitude toward cosmetic surgery as a means of improving physical appearance. In this study factors expected to predict need for cosmetic surgery were examined.

METHODS

A descriptive design was used with 321 high school girls who completed a questionnaire about sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, body image, self-esteem, and need for cosmetic surgery. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to examine factors affecting need for cosmetic surgery.

RESULTS

Bivariate correlations showed that need for cosmetic surgery was positively correlated with internalization and awareness of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, and appearance orientation in body image and negatively correlated with self-esteem and ideal body mass index (BMI). Multiple regression showed that the predictive variables explained 22.1% in need for cosmetic surgery. The significant factors influencing need for cosmetic surgery were greater internalization and awareness of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, better appearance evaluation and higher appearance orientation in body image, lower self-esteem, and lower ideal BMI.

CONCLUSION

Overall, results of this research suggest that prevention of media influence and body image disturbances, and promotion of self-esteem are very important to young women.

Impact of today's media on university student's body image in Pakistan: a conservative, developing country's perspective

Background

Living in a world greatly controlled by mass media makes it impossible to escape its pervading influence. As media in Pakistan has been free in the true sense of the word for only a few years, its impact on individuals is yet to be assessed. Our study aims to be the first to look at the effect media has on the body image of university students in a conservative, developing country like Pakistan. Also, we introduced the novel concept of body image dissatisfaction as being both negative and positive.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 7 private universities over a period of two weeks in the city of Karachi, Pakistan's largest and most populous city. Convenience sampling was used to select both male and female undergraduate students aged between 18 and 25 and a sample size of 783 was calculated.

Results

Of the 784 final respondents, 376 (48%) were males and 408 (52%) females. The mean age of males was 20.77 (+/- 1.85) years and females was 20.38 (+/- 1.63) years. Out of these, 358 (45.6%) respondents had a positive BID (body image dissatisfaction) score while 426 (54.4%) had a negative BID score. Of the respondents who had positive BID scores, 93 (24.7%) were male and 265 (65.0%) were female. Of the respondents with a negative BID score, 283 (75.3%) were male and 143 (35.0%) were female. The results for BID vs. media exposure were similar in both high and low peer pressure groups. Low media exposure meant positive BID scores and vice versa in both groups (p < 0.0001) showing a statistically significant association between high media exposure and negative body image dissatisfaction. Finally, we looked at the association between gender and image dissatisfaction. Again a statistically significant association was found between positive body image dissatisfaction and female gender and negative body image dissatisfaction and male gender (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Our study confirmed the tendency of the media to have an overall negative effect on individuals' body image. A striking feature of our study, however, was the finding that negative body image dissatisfaction was found to be more prevalent in males as compared to females. Likewise, positive BID scores were more prevalent amongst females.

Awareness and knowledge about weight status and management: results from the 1 d sensitization campaign 'Obesity Day' in northern Italy

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the awareness and knowledge about weight status and its management.

DESIGN

A 1 d cross-sectional survey. Basic anthropometric assessments (weight, height, BMI and waist circumference) and a self-administered questionnaire were considered.

SETTING

Nineteen Clinical Nutrition or Endocrinology and Metabolic Disorders Units or Dietetics Services in the Italian region of Lombardy.

SUBJECTS

All adults attending the 'Obesity Day' initiative.

RESULTS

A total of 914 participants (605 female and 309 male) were recruited. Although most of the participants (83·5 %) considered obesity to be a disease, 38·5 % were likely to misperceive their weight status. In particular, 38·8 % of normal-weight adults believed themselves to be overweight, whereas 71·1 % and 37·5 % of classes I and II/III obese adults classified themselves as being overweight and mildly obese, respectively. However, most of the overweight (90·2 %), mildly (96·8 %) and moderately/severely obese adults (99·1 %) recognized the need to lose weight. In all, 37·8 % of the sample underestimated the role of physical activity in weight management. Interestingly, only 17·2 % of dieters (previous or current) declared being advised by their doctor to lose weight. Multivariate models revealed that higher age, low education and higher BMI were important determinants of poor weight control and management. In addition, previous dieting appeared not to provide better knowledge, whereas the role of physical activity was recognized mainly by those practising it.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study suggests that in Italy knowledge about weight management should be improved not only in the general population but also among health-care professionals. To confirm this finding, there is now the rationale for a nationally representative survey. New educational programmes can be designed on the basis of the information collected.