Weight discrepancy and body appreciation among women in Poland and Britain

Previous studies have suggested that the process of transmigration has detrimental effects on the body image of migrants relative to women in the country of origin. In the present work, we examined the body image of Polish migrants in Britain (n = 153), Polish women in Poland (n = 153), and a comparison group of British White women (n = 110). Participants completed a measure of actual-ideal weight discrepancy and the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS). Contrary to hypotheses, our results showed that Polish women in Poland had significantly higher weight discrepancy than their counterparts in Britain. Further analyses showed that the BAS reduced to two dimensions among Polish participants, with Polish participants in Poland having significantly lower body appreciation than Polish migrants. We suggest that the sociocultural changes that have taken place in Eastern Europe may place women in that region at relatively high risk for developing negative body image.     

Stereo disparity facilitates view generalization during shape recognition for solid multipart objects

Current theories of object recognition in human vision make different predictions about whether the recognition of complex, multipart objects should be influenced by shape information about surface depth orientation and curvature derived from stereo disparity. We examined this issue in five experiments using a recognition memory paradigm in which observers (N = 134) memorized and then discriminated sets of 3D novel objects at trained and untrained viewpoints under either mono or stereo viewing conditions. In order to explore the conditions under which stereo-defined shape information contributes to object recognition we systematically varied the difficulty of view generalization by increasing the angular disparity between trained and untrained views. In one series of experiments, objects were presented from either previously trained views or untrained views rotated (15°, 30°, or 60°) along the same plane. In separate experiments we examined whether view generalization effects interacted with the vertical or horizontal plane of object rotation across 40° viewpoint changes. The results showed robust viewpoint-dependent performance costs: Observers were more efficient in recognizing learned objects from trained than from untrained views, and recognition was worse for extrapolated than for interpolated untrained views. We also found that performance was enhanced by stereo viewing but only at larger angular disparities between trained and untrained views. These findings show that object recognition is not based solely on 2D image information but that it can be facilitated by shape information derived from stereo disparity.     

Psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire and Weight Bias Internalization Scale in children and adolescents

Background/ObjectiveGiven the negative consequences of weight bias, including internalized weight stigma, on health outcomes, two instruments—the Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire (WSSQ) and Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS)—have been developed. However, their psychometric properties are yet to be tested for Asian pediatric populations. Method:Participants aged 8 to 12 years (N = 287; 153 boys) completed the WSSQ and the WBIS, and they were classified into either a group with overweight or a group without overweight based on self-reported weight and height. Results:Both WSSQ and WBIS had their factor structures supported by confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs). The measurement invariance of two-factor structure was further supported for WSSQ across gender and weight status. The measurement invariance of single-factor structure was supported for WBIS across gender but not across weight status. Conclusions:WSSQ and WBIS were both valid to assess the internalization of weight bias. However, the two instruments demonstrated different properties and should be applied in different situations.     

Team weigh-ins and self-weighing: Relations to body-related perceptions and disordered eating in collegiate male athletes

ObjectivesIn this study we examined the relation of team weigh-ins and self-weighing frequency on collegiate male athletes' internalization of body ideals, social pressures about weight/body, body satisfaction, dietary intent, negative affect, drive for muscularity, and bulimic symptomatology.Design and methodsWe used a cross-sectional survey design, and collected data electronically from 738 male intercollegiate athletes in the U.S.ResultsAthletes who self-weighed 7 + times per week reported the most pressure to lose weight and be lean and muscular, engaged in muscle-building behaviors most frequently, dieted most often, and had the highest level of bulimic symptomatology. Further, athletes on teams that conducted mandatory weigh-ins (vs. not) engaged in more muscularity behaviors and dietary restriction.ConclusionWeighing, but in particularly that conducted voluntarily, may contribute to an overconcern with appearance, body size/shape, and weight, which in turn can lead to a variety of behaviors related to eating and body change.     

What Do Women Want? A New View of Women’s Sexual Problems

Recent attempts to medicalize women’s sexual “dysfunction” are critiqued and a “New View” of women’s sexual problems is introduced. The author argues for a female-centered perspective on women’s sexual desires and problems, based on a review of the literature on women’s sexuality and her observations of young women’s sexual experiences from 25 years of teaching Human Sexuality to undergraduate women. The review suggests that a pill or a patch cannot adequately address the sexual problems commonly experienced by US women.     

The relationship between body weight and perceived weight-related employment discrimination: The role of sex and race

This study provides unique empirical evidence regarding a growing concern internationally: weight discrimination in the workplace. Using survey data from a national sample of 2838 American adults, it responds to Puhl and Brownell’s [Puhl, R., & Brownell, K. D. (2001). Bias, discrimination, and obesity. Obesity Research, 9, 788-805] call for additional research investigating the prevalence of discriminatory experience among overweight employees, and to their more specific call for research that takes sex and race into account when examining weight discrimination. The results indicate that women are over 16 times more likely than men to perceive employment related discrimination and identify weight as the basis for their discriminatory experience. In addition, overweight respondents were 12 times more likely than normal weight respondents to report weight-related employment discrimination, obese 37 times more likely, and severely obese more than 100 times more likely. The implications of the study’s findings for organizations, policy makers, overweight employees, and career counselors are discussed, and future research directions suggested.     

Recurrent binge eating with and without the "undue influence of weight or shape on self-evaluation": implications for the diagnosis of binge eating disorder

Levels of eating disorder psychopathology, impairment in psycho-social functioning and use of health services were compared among probable cases of binge eating disorder (BED) with and without extreme weight or shape concerns ("undue influence of weight or shape on self-evaluation") recruited from a large community sample of women. Data for obese non-binge eaters (n=457), also recruited from the community sample, and for a clinical sample of eating disorder patients (n=128), recruited separately, were included for comparative purposes. BED cases who reported extreme weight or shape concerns (n=51, 46.4%) had significantly higher levels of eating disorder psychopathology and functional impairment than those who did not report such concerns (n=59), after controlling for between-group differences in age and body weight. In addition, BED cases who reported extreme weight or shape concerns were more likely to have sought treatment for an eating or weight problem than those who did not. Whereas levels of eating disorder psychopathology and functional impairment were markedly elevated among BED cases with extreme weight or shape concerns, BED cases who did not report extreme weight or shape concerns resembled obese non-binge eaters in most respects. The findings support the inclusion of an undue influence of weight or shape on self-evaluation as a diagnostic criterion for BED. In the absence of this influence, eating disorders that otherwise resemble BED do not appear to be "clinically significant".     

具身认知观对语言理解的新诠释——心理模拟:语言理解的一种手段

具身认知观(Embodied Cognition)试图对心-身-世界之间的交互方式给予系统的理论说明,主张:"认知是一种高度具身的、情景化的活动"(Micheal L.Anderson,2004);认知是从身体与环境的相互作用中产生的,依赖于某种类型的经验。从具身认知观来看,心理模拟是语言理解的一种手段,通过再入情景(re-situating)来实现。本文根据上述逻辑考察了词、句、语篇不同信息加工层面的实验研究进展,证实了人们在语言加工过程中感知、肌肉运动以及其他的经验印痕被激活,支持了语言理解是运动感觉以及其他相关经验的心理模拟过程。这种语言理解的心理模拟需要人们再入情景,与已有的听读说写的语言经验发生共鸣,从而为语言理解提供了新的诠释,丰富和发展了认知语言学的理论与实践。     

Childhood obesity stigma: association with television, videogame, and magazine exposure

Although the stigmatization of obesity among children is highly prevalent, its origins and relationship to mass media exposure are largely unknown. Ninety boys and 171 girls aged 10–13 years (mean BMI = 19.84) were asked to rank, in order of liking, 12 figures of peers depicted both with and without various disabilities or obesity, and to rate their attitudes towards the obese child on visual analogue scales. Weekly time spent watching television, watching videogames, and reading magazines on weekdays and weekends was assessed. Total media use, magazine use, and videogame use were significantly correlated with more negative reactions to obese girls and boys. Regression analyses revealed that greater dislike of obese children relative to their non-overweight peers was uniquely predicted by magazine reading time. Thus, media exposure was associated with stigmatizing attitudes towards obese children. Mass media sources may lead children to devalue and stigmatize peers with above-average body weights.     

Body dissatisfaction and body comparison with media images in males and females

This study examined the role of media body comparison as a mediator of the relationships between psychological factors and sociocultural pressures to be thin and body dissatisfaction in both females and males. Participants were 1,386 females (mean age = 19.37 years) and 1,130 males (mean age = 19.46) from diverse backgrounds who completed a self-report questionnaire. Path analysis was used to test a cross-sectional model in which media body comparison mediated the impact of self-esteem, depressive mood, parent dieting environment, friend dieting, TV exposure, magazine message exposure, weight teasing and body mass index (BMI) on body dissatisfaction. In females, media body comparison partially or fully mediated relationships between self-esteem, depressive mood, friend dieting, magazine message exposure and BMI, and body dissatisfaction. In males, media body comparison was not a significant predictor of body dissatisfaction. This research particularly highlights the need to further examine processes that are involved in the development of body dissatisfaction in males.