The relationship between eating attitudes, body mass index, age, and gender in Australian university students

Body Attitudes and Eating Behaviours of Female Malay Students Studying in Australia

The extent to which 113 adolescent Malay women studying in Australia expressed the desire to lose weight was examined, as was the degree to which this desire reflected a genuine need to lose weight. Comparisons between participants who expressed the desire to either lose weight, stay at their current weight, or gain weight were made using both attitudinal and behavioural components of body image. An in-depth analysis of those who wished to lose weight was also undertaken. There was evidence that negative body attitudes were in excess of what actual body weight might dictate. However, these negative attitudes were not found to be consistently predictive of dysfunctional eating behaviours. Results were interpreted with reference to the potential influence of Westernisation in countries in the South Pacific region, and in particular how attitudes and behaviours are influenced by this process.

A multidimensional ambivalence model of chocolate craving: construct validity and associations with chocolate consumption and disordered eating

This study tested the construct validity of a multidimensional ambivalence model of chocolate craving, and examined the concurrent and discriminant validity of the model with respect to chocolate consumption and disordered eating behaviors. The Orientation to Chocolate Questionnaire (OCQ) was administered to 312 university students (79.5% female) along with measures of chocolate consumption and disordered eating. Results supported a three-factor model of chocolate craving incorporating approach and avoidance inclinations and feelings of guilt. These craving dimensions differentially predicted frequency and quantity of chocolate consumption as well as a range of disordered eating behaviors. Chocolate-related guilt was a consistent indicator of dysfunctional eating patterns, but was unrelated to external or functional eating. Approach inclinations positively predicted consumption-oriented eating behaviors and negatively predicted avoidance-oriented behaviors. Active avoidance inclinations facilitated restraint and inhibited frequency of consumption, but were unrelated to quantity consumed. In line with contemporary theories of substance craving, chocolate craving can be conceptualized as a net action disposition resulting from the relative strength of the competing processes underlying indulgence and restraint.

The effect of attentional bias toward shape- and weight-related information on body dissatisfaction

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to investigate the causal role of selective attention to shape/weight-related information in terms of intensifying body dissatisfaction.

METHOD

The participants were 70 female first-year psychology students aged 17-28 years. An attentional probe task was used to induce attention toward either negative shape/weight-related words, neutral words, or negatively valenced emotion words. Thereafter vulnerability toward the development of body dissatisfaction was assessed in the three groups after being exposed to a body image challenge.

RESULTS

The induction of an attentional bias toward shape/weight-related information resulted in higher body dissatisfaction compared with both control groups.

CONCLUSION

The results support the notion that an attentional bias toward shape/weight-related information plays a causal role in body dissatisfaction, suggesting that such biases may prove to be a useful target in interventions designed to improve body image.

Current conceptualisation of body image dissatisfaction: have we got it wrong?

BACKGROUND

This study addresses limitations of previous research by examining the prevalence of body image dissatisfaction within two developmental periods: childhood and adolescence.

METHODS

A sample of 448 boys and 508 girls completed self-report measures of global body image dissatisfaction. Weight and height of all participants were also determined.

RESULTS

Our results indicated that body image dissatisfaction differs significantly depending upon sex and body mass. Importantly, the results revealed a multi-modal distribution in the data, particularly for boys. That is, for females there was a significant increase in body dissatisfaction across bodyweight, reflecting a predominant desire to be thinner. In contrast, for boys, there was a differential pattern; with those who were overweight wanting to be thinner, but those who were underweight wanting to be larger. Moreover, whilst for both sexes, body image dissatisfaction was found to be evident in childhood as well as adolescence, during the former developmental period, it appeared to be less pronounced.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate that, contrary to previous propositions, body image dissatisfaction is of concern for males as well as females, although the distribution of such is strikingly different. The outcomes suggest that it is time to reframe our conceptualisation of this construct. Specifically, the identified non-linear distribution of means indicates that inferential analysis of body image dissatisfaction data needs to be conducted independently for each sex, as well as each body mass grouping.

Body image dissatisfaction: gender differences in eating attitudes, self-esteem, and reasons for exercise

Two hundred and thirty-five adolescents completed a questionnaire on the subject of eating attitudes, self-esteem, reasons for exercise, and their ideal versus current body size and shape. As predicted, boys were as likely to want to be heavier as lighter, whereas very few girls desired to be heavier. Only girls associated body dissatisfaction with the concept of self-esteem. Male self-esteem was not affected by body dissatisfaction. Specific reasons for exercise were found to correlate with low self-esteem and disordered eating, regardless of sex. The results are discussed in relation to burgeoning published research in this area.

Posteroanterior stiffness in the lumbosacral spine. The correlation between adjacent vertebral levels

STUDY DESIGN

A descriptive design of posteroanterior stiffness in the lumbosacral spine.

OBJECTIVES

To measure posteroanterior stiffness between L1 and S1 to establish the pattern of stiffness in individuals with no history of low back pain.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

In clinical examination for low back pain, manual assessment of abnormal stiffness is used to determine the site of the pain-producing lesion. However, there is little objective evidence of the variation in stiffness between levels in normal spines or of the factors that determine posteroanterior stiffness.

METHOD

Posteroanterior stiffness was measured with a specially developed measuring device at each of the six vertebral levels between L1 and S1. Force-displacement relations were computed for each vertebral level. The gradient of the linear part of the force-displacement relation was used as a coefficient of stiffness, and the amount of displacement between 5 N and 30 N of applied force (D5-30) was used as a measure of the length of the toe region.

RESULTS

Overall there was a significant linear trend of increasing stiffness from L1 to S1. Ninety percent of the difference scores for adjacent level comparisons were less than 3.6 N/mm. There was considerable variation in the patterns of stiffness found in different individuals. The stiffness coefficient and D5-30 correlated significantly with skinfold thickness measurements and body mass index.

CONCLUSION

A linear trend of increasing stiffness was found between L1 and S1, but this pattern was influenced by variables related to body type (adiposity).

The internal structure of the Eating Disorder Inventory

The Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI; Garner, Olmsted, & Polivy, 1983) is used as a screening instrument for identifying potential anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. It comprises eight subscales: Bulimia, Drive for Thinness, Body Dissatisfaction, Maturity Fears, Introceptive Awareness, Perfectionism, Interpersonal Distrust, and Ineffectiveness. We examined the internal structure of the EDI using a principle components factor analysis, for a sample of women with no known eating disorder. The results of the factor analyses showed differences between the extracted factors and Garner et al.'s subscales. Seven factors were extracted, accounting for 60.8% of the variance. The first factor accounted for 33.5% of the variance. The analysis indicated that items factored along positive-negative and factual-emotional lines. We conclude that at present there is not enough evidence to support the efficacy of the subscale structure with women who are not known to have eating disorders.