More than just body weight: The role of body image in psychological and physical functioning

The current study examined BMI and body image dissatisfaction as predictors of physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQL) and psychosocial functioning in a sample of 414 undergraduate students (mean age = 21.5, SD = 4.9; mean BMI = 23.6, SD = 5.2). In men and women, higher BMI was correlated with body image dissatisfaction and physical HRQL, but not with any measures of psychosocial functioning, whereas higher body image dissatisfaction was associated with poorer physical HRQL and psychosocial functioning. Furthermore, body image dissatisfaction was observed to mediate the relationship between BMI and physical HRQL in men and women. Interestingly, in this model, higher BMI predicted increased self-esteem. These findings suggest that body image dissatisfaction may be an important target for health interventions.     

Holding fat stereotypes is associated with lower body dissatisfaction in normal weight Caucasian women who engage in body surveillance

This study examined the moderating effect of body surveillance on the relationship between fat stereotype endorsement and body dissatisfaction in normal weight women. Participants (N = 225) completed online measures of fat stereotyping, body surveillance, body dissatisfaction, and internalized thin ideals. After accounting for thin ideals, body surveillance moderated the relationship between fat stereotypes and body dissatisfaction. Contrary to hypotheses, higher fat stereotype endorsement predicted lower body dissatisfaction in women with higher body surveillance. Conversely, higher fat stereotype endorsement predicted greater body dissatisfaction in women with lower body surveillance. Thus, endorsing fat stereotypes appears protective against body dissatisfaction in normal weight women who extensively engage in body surveillance. For women who hold fat stereotypes and report high body surveillance, we propose that downward appearance comparison may create a contrast between themselves and the people with overweight whom they denigrate, thus improving body dissatisfaction.     

Do lesbian women have a better body image? Comparisons with heterosexual women and model of lesbian-specific factors

Body dissatisfaction is prevalent among women but may be less common among lesbian women. Although research trends toward this conclusion when samples are well-matched and body mass index (BMI) is controlled for, many studies do not exhibit these characteristics. Furthermore, few studies have examined sociocultural contributors to group differences. I addressed limitations of past research with a large community sample of lesbian (n = 479) and heterosexual (n = 400) women. I contrasted the two sexual identity groups on several body dissatisfaction measures, and tested theoretically derived relationships between lesbian-specific cultural factors and body dissatisfaction. As predicted, lesbian women reported lower body dissatisfaction than did heterosexual women on three of four measures, and expressed a larger ideal body size. A structural equation model of lesbian-specific risk and protective factors for body dissatisfaction did not reveal significant relationships. This study represents a first attempt to model culturally specific influences on lesbian body image.     

Body talk and body-related co-rumination: Associations with body image,eating attitudes,and psychological adjustment

Talk about physical appearance and body image is common among young women. We investigated how body talk (negative, positive/self-accepting, and co-ruminative) is related to body image, body-related cognitive distortions, disordered eating, psychological adjustment, and friendship quality via hierarchical regression analyses (controlling for social desirability and body mass index). In a sample of young adult women (N = 203), negative body talk was, as predicted, negatively related to body satisfaction and self-esteem and positively related to appearance investment, body-related cognitive distortions, disordered eating, and depression, but not friendship quality. Self-accepting/positive body talk was negatively related to body-related cognitive distortions and positively related to body satisfaction, self-esteem, and friendship quality. Body-related co-rumination demonstrated adjustment trade-offs, being related to body-related cognitive distortions, disordered eating, and higher friendship quality. Results indicated no advantage to negative body talk, both individual and relationship benefits from positive/self-accepting body talk, and mixed outcomes for body-related co-rumination     

Étude de validation de la version française de l’Échelle d’Estime Corporelle (Body Esteem Scale) chez les adolescentes et les jeunes adultes

IntroductionThe literature of body image suggests that many women and young women suffer from body dissatisfaction and this dissatisfaction is an important risk factor for the development of eating disorders.ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to validate the French female version of the Body Esteem Scale (BES; Mendelson et al., 2001).MethodThis self-administered questionnaire assesses body esteem and includes three subscales: “Weight”, “Appearance” and “Attribution”. The questionnaire was given to a sample of 835 adolescent girls and young adults (mean age = 16.62 ± 1.50).ResultsExploratory factorial analysis yielded three factors “Weight”, “Appearance” and “Desire to modify and negative affect associated with the general appearance”, somewhat similar to those of the original validation study. The goodness-of-fit of the three factors model was satisfactory. Correlations were found between the three subscales of the BES, BMI and general self-esteem.ConclusionThe French version of the BES shows satisfactory psychometric properties and provides a useful tool for better understanding the psychological aspects of attitudes towards one's body. In France, very few questionnaires are available to measure body attitudes, despite the fact that the body dissatisfaction affects many adolescent girls and represents a risk factor for the development of eating disorders.     

Self-objectification,body self-consciousness during sexual activities,and sexual satisfaction in college women

Few studies examine the mechanisms that link body image to sexual satisfaction in women. Using the tenets of objectification theory, this study investigated the relationships between body surveillance, body shame, body self-consciousness during sexual activities, and sexual satisfaction in an ethnically diverse sample of American female college students (N = 368), while controlling for relationship status and body mass index. Results based on self-report measures of these constructs suggested that body shame and body self-consciousness during sexual activity were negatively correlated with sexual satisfaction. Additionally, path analysis indicated that body surveillance predicted increased body self-consciousness during sexual activity, partially mediated by body shame. Body self-consciousness, in turn, predicted decreased sexual satisfaction. Overall, study findings highlight the negative consequences of body image concerns for women's sexual satisfaction.     

The paradoxical moderating effect of body image investment on the impact of weight-based derogatory media

Weight-based derogatory media consist of derogation of celebrities for failing to meet the thin ideal. This study examined the impact of weight-based derogatory media on women's body satisfaction, appearance self-esteem, fear of negative appearance evaluation, and negative affect. Female undergraduates (N = 240) were exposed to either tabloid-style pictures and articles derogating average size celebrities for gaining weight, or to the same images accompanied by neutral information. Women in the derogation condition reported greater fear of negative appearance evaluation than did women in the neutral media condition. Contrary to predictions, women low in maladaptive body image investment reported lower body satisfaction and appearance self-esteem in the derogatory media condition than they did in the neutral condition, while women high in maladaptive investment did not differ across conditions. Highly invested women's unexpected reaction may be understood as a defence against a threat to a valued domain of the self.     

Positive fantasies or negative contrasts: The effect of media body ideals on restrained eaters’ mood,weight satisfaction,and food intake

Although viewing media body ideals promotes body dissatisfaction and problematic eating among women (e.g., extreme restraint/overeating), some argue that women only report such negative effects because they think that they are meant to (i.e., demand characteristics). Because restrained eaters are trying to lose weight, they might be vulnerable to such media exposure. However, because of demand characteristics, evidence is mixed. Therefore, we minimized demand characteristics and explored whether media body ideals would trigger restrained eaters to report negative (negative mood, weight dissatisfaction) or positive (positive mood, weight satisfaction) effects. We also hypothesized that this change (negative or positive) would encourage food intake. Restrained and unrestrained eaters (n = 107) memorized media or control images. Restrained eaters exposed to media images reported decreased weight satisfaction and increased negative mood, but their food intake was not significantly affected. Perhaps paying advertent attention to the images caused goal-related negative affect, which triggered restraint.     

Connecting theory to fat talk: Body dissatisfaction mediates the relationships between weight discrepancy,upward comparison,body surveillance,and fat talk

The fat talk literature is meager in terms of offering theoretical explanations for women's self-disparaging communication. The research presented here sought to establish a relationship between three prominent body image theories – self-discrepancy theory, social comparison theory, and objectification theory – and fat talk by proposing body dissatisfaction as a potential mediating mechanism. Young adult women (N = 201) completed an online questionnaire. As predicted, results revealed that body dissatisfaction significantly mediated the relationships between weight discrepancy, upward comparison, body surveillance and fat talk. Effect size estimates indicated that the size of each indirect effect was medium in magnitude.     

Body checking and avoidance in ethnically diverse female college students

Although body checking and avoidance behaviors are common in women with eating disorders, minimal research has examined the nature or correlates of these behaviors in ethnically diverse female college students without eating disorders. Self-identified European American (n = 268), Asian American (n = 163), Latina (n = 146), and African American (n = 73) women completed self-report measures of body checking and avoidance, thin-ideal internalization, eating pathology, and clinical impairment. Results indicated that European and Asian American women reported significantly more body checking and avoidance than African American and Latina women. Generally, correlates of body checking and avoidance were consistent across ethnic groups: Regression analyses indicated that type of ethnicity predicted body checking and avoidance; and ethnicity, body checking, and body avoidance predicted eating pathology and clinical impairment. These associations suggest that body checking and avoidance are not benign behaviors in diverse nonclinical women.     

Athletic-ideal and thin-ideal internalization as prospective predictors of body dissatisfaction,dieting, and compulsive exercise

Although internalization of the thin ideal has been extensively researched and is now regarded as a risk factor for eating disturbance, endorsement of the firm, athletic body ideal has received only minimal attention. This short-term longitudinal study explored whether internalization of two aspects of the current cultural ideal (thinness and athleticism) prospectively predicted three potentially deleterious outcomes: body dissatisfaction, dieting, and compulsive exercise. Undergraduate women (N = 231) completed self-report measures at the beginning of the academic year and again 7 months later (N = 156 at Time 2). Athletic-ideal internalization predicted change in compulsive exercise over the 7-month study period but not body dissatisfaction or dieting; thin-ideal internalization predicted change in all three outcomes. When both internalization measures were tested simultaneously, neither contributed unique variance. Results suggest that athletic-ideal internalization is not as detrimental as thin-ideal internalization.     

Avatar body dimensions and men's body image

Two online surveys examined the significance of the visual analogues, or ‘avatars’, men (total N = 266) create and use online. Two-dimensional (adiposity × muscle) somatomorphic matrices revealed that avatars are generally thinner than their creator's actual body and similar to their ideal, but more muscular than either their actual or ideal. Men's ratings of the importance of their avatar's appearance correlated with their actual weight and muscle concerns, and disparity between their avatar and actual body dimensions predicted their offline context body change concerns additional to that accounted for by disparity between their ideal and actual bodies. Together with the observation that men also reported higher self-esteem, less social interaction anxiety and less social phobia while online (which correlated with the time they spent online), these results suggest that the physical dimensions of avatars used in social interactions online may serve a compensatory function.     

Feeling body dissatisfied after viewing thin-ideal pictures is mediated by self-activation

The present study sought to investigate the influence of self-activation on body and weight satisfaction in restrained and unrestrained eaters, after exposure to thin-ideal images. Restrained eaters (n = 39) and unrestrained eaters (n = 40) were randomly assigned to a self-activation manipulation versus a control manipulation. After the manipulation, all participants were exposed to eight thin-ideal images. Measures of state body and weight satisfaction and of social comparison tendencies were assessed throughout the experiment. Self-activated restrained eaters showed a significant decrease in body and weight satisfaction after exposure to thin-ideal images, compared to restrained eaters who were not self-activated. In unrestrained eaters, the self-activation manipulation did not have any effect on body or weight dissatisfaction. In conclusion, exposure to fashion models only had a negative influence on women's self-evaluations when two conditions were met: (1) the participant was ‘self-activated’ and (2) the participant classified as a restrained eater.     

The effects of fat talk on body dissatisfaction and eating behavior: The moderating role of dietary restraint

Although research suggests that fat talk, the normalized conversations that involve degrading one's body shape/weight and size, can increase body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behavior, the extent to which dietary restraint may moderate these relationships remains uncertain. A pilot study (N = 30) comparing online videos with researcher-developed vignettes as prospective manipulations for fat talk exposure suggested use of the vignettes as potent yet subtle stimuli. In the main study, women undergraduates (N = 116) were randomized to read a fat talk or neutral vignette and then completed standardized measures of body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint while being concurrently presented with food stimuli. Results suggest significant moderation effects for dietary restraint: whereas fat talk exposure was associated with increased body dissatisfaction among low dietary restrainers, it appeared to reduce food consumption among high dietary restrainers. Findings highlight the importance of individual differences in shaping responses to fat talk.     

Appearance commentary from romantic partners: Evaluation of an adapted measure

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Verbal Commentary on Physical Appearance Scale (VCOPAS; Herbozo & Thompson, 2006b) after modifying it to capture appearance feedback given by romantic partners (VCOPAS-P). Women participants (N = 248) completed the VCOPAS-P, as well as measures of disordered eating, body image dissatisfaction, relationship quality, and socially desirable responding. Exploratory factor analysis identified the best factor structure for the VCOPAS-P, which contained three factors similar to the VCOPAS. Correlations between the VCOPAS-P subscales and measures of disordered eating, body image dissatisfaction, relationship quality, and social desirability responding demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity of the VCOPAS-P. There was a significant positive correlation between the negative comments subscale of the VCOPAS-P and the measures of body dissatisfaction and weight concern (measured by the EDE-Q). Additionally, VCOPAS-P subscales reflecting positive comments about appearance and weight were associated with greater relationship satisfaction.     

Women and body dissatisfaction: Does sexual orientation make a difference?

In this study, heterosexual (n = 95) and nonheterosexual (n = 84) women were asked to rate figure drawings and computer-generated images of women that varied in body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and breast size in terms of self, ideal, and cultural ideal; discrepancy indices, indicating body dissatisfaction, were created for each body aspect. Nonheterosexual women had significantly higher body mass indices (BMIs) than heterosexual women, but when the effects of BMI were controlled, participants evidenced similar perceptions of their bodies, their ideal bodies, and the female cultural ideal, as well as similar levels of body dissatisfaction for body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and breast size. The results of this study suggest that being a member of a society that highly values a thin, curvaceous, relatively large-breasted body puts women, regardless of sexual orientation, at risk for body dissatisfaction.     

BodiMojo: Effective Internet-based promotion of positive body image in adolescent girls

This study tested the efficacy of an Internet-based health promotion program, BodiMojo, designed to promote positive body image in adolescents. Participants were 178 students (mean age 15.2 years, 67.6% ethnic minority) in three public high schools. Intervention groups used BodiMojo for four weekly health class periods, while controls participated in their usual health curriculum. Body image measures were given at baseline, post-intervention, and 3 months. Girls reported decreased body dissatisfaction (p < .05), decreased physical appearance comparison (p < .05), and increased appearance satisfaction (p < .05), relative to controls. Effects were not maintained at 3-month follow-up. No significant differences were found between the intervention and control groups with boys. Moderation analyses suggested positive effects for diverse adolescents as well as those who were overweight or indicated baseline high body dissatisfaction. BodiMojo appears to be modestly effective in decreasing body image concerns among adolescent girls in the short term.     

Change in body image and psychological well-being during behavioral obesity treatment: Associations with weight loss and maintenance

This study reports on outcomes from a behavioral obesity treatment program, evaluating if treatment-related changes in body image and psychological well-being are predictors of weight change during treatment and after follow-up. Participants were 142 overweight/obese women (BMI = 30.2 ± 3.7 kg/m²; age = 38.3 ± 5.8 years) participants in a behavioral treatment program consisting of a 4-month treatment period and a 12-month follow-up. Psychosocial variables improved during treatment and these changes were correlated with 4-month weight reduction. Short-term changes in body size dissatisfaction (p = .002) and mood (p = .003) predicted long-term weight loss. Additional results suggest that there might be a predictive role of short-term changes in body size dissatisfaction and self-esteem on long-term weight loss after accounting for initial weight change (p < .028). We conclude that, along with weight changes, cognitive and affect-related processes influenced during obesity treatment may be related long-term success, in some cases independently of initial weight loss.     

Gratitude buffers the adverse effect of viewing the thin ideal on body dissatisfaction

Gratitude has robust associations with multiple aspects of well-being. However, little research has explored whether the psychological benefits of gratitude extend to body image. We used a repeated measures experimental design to test whether a brief period of grateful reflection would buffer the adverse effect of exposure to thin-ideal media. Female undergraduates (N = 67) completed three sessions one week apart. The conditions were specifically designed to isolate (a) the effects of viewing thin models on body dissatisfaction and (b) the moderating effect of grateful contemplation. Results showed that body dissatisfaction scores were lower for women who engaged in a brief period of grateful contemplation before viewing photographs of thin models than for women who reflected upon life hassles before viewing the same photographs. The magnitude of this decrease depended on BMI. Gratitude offers an innovative direction for future research directed toward helping women to accept their bodies.     

The impact of thin idealized media images on body satisfaction: Does body appreciation protect women from negative effects?

This article examines whether positive body image can protect women from negative media exposure effects. University women (N = 112) were randomly allocated to view advertisements featuring ultra-thin models or control images. Women who reported high levels of body appreciation did not report negative media exposure effects. Furthermore, the protective role of body appreciation was also evident among women known to be vulnerable to media exposure. Women high on thin-ideal internalization and low on body appreciation reported appearance-discrepancies that were more salient and larger when they viewed models compared to the control group. However, women high on thin-ideal internalization and also high on body appreciation rated appearance-discrepancies as less important and no difference in size than the control group. The results support the notion that positive body image protects women from negative environmental appearance messages and suggests that promoting positive body image may be an effective intervention strategy.