Strategies for eating and body change among Brazilian women and men

Abstract

Objectives: Our study was conducted to adapt the Body Image and Body Change Inventory (BIBCI) for Portuguese; to evaluate the BIBCI's psychometric properties in samples of university students; to calculate the prevalence of strategies for eating and body change among students; and to evaluate the impact of demographic, social, and anthropometric characteristics on the BIBCI subscales. Methods: 798 students (women = 63%) answered the Portuguese translation of the BIBCI and answered a demographic questionnaire. All analyses were performed separately for women and men. The BIBCI's psychometric properties were estimated using confirmatory factor analysis. Mean scores were calculated for each BIBCI subscale. A multivariate regression model was tested to evaluate the impact of demographic, social, and anthropometric characteristics on mean BIBCI subscale scores. Results: The psychometric properties of the BIBCI were adequate in the samples analyzed. The BIBCI subscales scores did not differ according to sex. According to the cutoff points adopted, most of the students were classified in the very low category of the BIBCI subscales. For women, characteristics such as self-reported eating assessment, economic class, physical activity level, and work were significant. For men, only physical activity level was significant. Conclusion: The Portuguese translation of the BIBCI was presented and its psychometric properties were found to be adequate in the samples analyzed. The models identified significant characteristics that can be used in intervention protocols for preventing inappropriate behaviors in relation to body image and eating.

Distortion and dissatisfaction with body size per the demographic and academic characteristics and the nutritional status of university students

“…Still, we found a higher prevalence of body size underestimation among students who practiced physical activity and used dietary supplements to change their bodies. Previous studies (Silva et al, 2020;Laus et al, 2009;Silva et al, 2017) have also found similar results to our, revealing that individuals who practice excessive physical activity and intake food supplements indiscriminately generally are dissatisfied with the body. In this way, these people are susceptible to the adoption of dysfunctional behaviors, such as disordered eating behavior and social isolation.…”

“…The university environment also may influence individuals' body concerns given the sudden changes of social paradigms, high tension, and anxiety that affects mainly younger (Silva et al, 2020;Schumacher et al, 2010;Yahia et al, 2011). Tallat et al, (2017) suggest further research that explores the relationship between university environment and body image, since negative perceptions can affect students' eating behavior.…”

Associação entre características individuais, imagem corporal e Sintomatologia de Transtornos Alimentares em acadêmicos de Nutrição de uma Instituição de Ensino Superior

“…Individuals from the high economic class had greater body size distortion, as well as symptoms of ED compared to individuals from the middle economic class. This suggests that income is an important characteristic in future assessments (Ainett et al, 2017;da Silva et al, 2020;von dem Knesebeck et al, 2013). Passos et al (2020), when analyzing 12 studies in a systematic review, pointed out that several factors can influence the development of EDs, among them associations with socioeconomic status.…”