Sources of body comparison and their relation to body image concerns among middle-aged women

Efficacy of body appreciation training on body image concerns in overweight adolescents

Body image concern is one of the important issues in the field of overweight and the factors of failure in losing weight which is necessary to undergo intervention to increase the efficiency of sports and nutrition programs. This study aimed to analyze the efficacy of body appreciation training on body image concerns in overweight adolescents. It was a semi-experimental method with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group). The research community consisted of overweight girl adolescents who were referred to weight control and weight loss centers in Isfahan City in 2021. From the mentioned society, 30 adolescents were selected by targeted sampling method and assigned to two groups of 15 people, experiment and control. The experimental group received 9 sessions of 90-min body appreciation training. The control group was on the waiting list during this time. The research tool was the body image concern questionnaire of Littleton et al. (2005). Data analysis was done using SPSS-24 software and the covariance analysis method. The results showed that there is a significant difference between the two groups in the variable of concerns related to body image (P < 0.001); Also, the results showed that there is a significant difference between the two groups in the variables of dissatisfaction with appearance and interference in social functioning (P < 0.001). In this way, based on the results of this research, body appreciation training can be used to reduce concerns related to body image in overweight adolescents.

Psychometric Examination of the Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation Measure (BEECOM) among Spanish Adolescents and Young Adults

The Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation Measure (BEECOM) has been frequently used within the context of research on eating disorders (ED). Although both long (BEECOM-L) and short (BEECOM-S) versions of the instrument exist, their psychometric properties have not yet been concurrently investigated across different populations in terms of age and gender. The present study aimed to compare the psychometric properties of both the BEECOM-L and the BEECOM-S among Spanish male and female non-clinical adolescents and young adults. Data from 4 samples including 1213 middle school and college students enrolled in 10 education centers from southern Spain (age ranging from 12 to 35 years, M_age = 17.796, SD_age = 4.796, 53% females) were analyzed using factorial, correlation, and regression analysis techniques. Results provided evidence that support the reliability, measurement invariance according to age and gender, and convergent/incremental validity for the scores from both the BEECOM-L and BEECOM-S. Concerning factorial validity, marginally acceptable and adequate goodness-of-fit indices were obtained for the BEECOM-L and BEECOM-S, respectively. The BEECOM-S proves to be a psychometrically sound instrument with potential value for assessing social comparisons focused on body, eating, and exercise in non-clinical adolescents and young adults from Spain.