Body image and weight consciousness among South Asian, Italian and general population women in Britain

Bush, H; Williams, Rory; Lean, Michael E. J.; Anderson, Annie S.

doi:10.1006/appe.2001.0424

Cited by 60 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Six items were associated with social status, seven related to healthier body size, 14 items evaluated individual attributes, three items were used to assess weight definitions (normal, overweight, obese) and two items assessed current body size (CBS) and ideal body size (IBS) so that body satisfaction could be calculated. 21 The silhouettes used ( Figure 1) had been developed in a previous study 10 and had the advantage of being based on photographic silhouettes of individuals of known BMI (20-38 kg/m 2 ) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR, 0.71-0.93) and they conferred a 'neutral' appearance in terms of ethnicity as they do not show facial features and they are shaded in so that they appear neutral in terms of skin colour. The six silhouettes were presented on each of three A4 cards (BMI and WHR values were not shown): the first ranked the individuals in an ascending order of BMI (Figure 1), while on Body size perceptions in urban Senegalese women M Holdsworth et al the two subsequent cards they appeared in a random order to avoid respondents becoming too accustomed to them.…”

Section: Silhouettesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have shown that the perception of ideal body size varies with culture, ethnicity, educational level and socioeconomic group [7][8][9][10][11] and can influence the development of obesity. 12,13 In Western societies, thinness is associated with self-control, elegance, youthfulness and attractiveness, and women of higher socioeconomic groups are less likely to be obese.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Perceptions of healthy and desirable body size in urban Senegalese women

et al. 2004

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OBJECTIVE: To examine the cultural ideals for body size held by urban Senegalese women; to determine the body size that women associate with health; and to estimate the change in prevalence of female obesity in an urban neighbourhood of Dakar. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, population-based study in the subject's home, using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire, conducted in the same Dakar neighbourhood as that of a previous survey conducted in 1996. SUBJECTS: A total of 301 randomly selected women, aged 20-50 y, living in a specific Dakar neighbourhood, Senegal. MEASUREMENTS: A total of 32 items concerning body satisfaction, social status, health and individual attributes to associate with one of six photographic silhouettes; body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio by anthropometry; and measures of economic status. RESULTS: In all, 26.6% of women were overweight (BMI 25-29.9 kg/m 2 ) and 18.6% were obese (BMI Z30 kg/m 2 ) compared with 22.4 and 8.0% respectively in 1996. Overweight was the most socially desirable body size, although obesity itself was seen as undesirable, associated with greediness and the development of diabetes and heart disease. Lay definitions of overweight and normal weight differed substantially from health definitions, as one-third of the sample saw the 'overweight' category as normal. Over a third of women with BMI Z25 kg/m 2 wanted to gain more weight. CONCLUSION: There has been a sharp rise in the prevalence of obesity in Senegalese women living in a Dakar neighbourhood over the last 7 y. In general, overweight body sizes (but not obese) were seen in a positive light. The finding that the term 'overweight' made little sense to these Senegalese women could have important implications for developing public health policies.

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Section: Silhouettesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions of healthy and desirable body size in urban Senegalese women

et al. 2004

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“…Girls prefer a lean figure and are more dissatisfied about their body weight and body size than boys [9][10][11]. There is only limited data from the South Asian region on this topic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies carried out in high-income countries comparing attitudes about body image among Caucasians and IndoAsians show wide variability [12][13][14][15]. Although young expatriate Indo-Asians prefer a thin body, traditional beliefs associate health with a larger body size [4,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body image construct of Sri Lankan adolescents

et al. 2017

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Introduction "Body image" is more than the visual perception of size and it is probably multidimensional. It is known to influence eating behaviors and self-esteem of adolescents.Although widely studied in developed countries, it has been studied little in Sri Lanka.Objectives This study was designed to translate and culturally adapt a tool to assess dimensions of body image in Sri Lankan adolescents. MethodsThe study was carried out in the Anuradhapura District on school going children in grades nine to eleven. A multidimensional body image questionnaire was translated to Sinhalese language using the nominal group consensus method. The translated version was administered to 278 (114 boys) students after content validation and pre-testing.To assess test-retest reliability, the same questionnaire was administered to the same sample after two weeks. Psychometric properties were assessed using exploratory factor analysis.Results Three-factor model emerged when dimensions in body image were analysed. Both boys and girls had almost identical factor structure. The three dimensions identified were "affective body image", "body perception" and "orientation on body size". All factors had good internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha > 0.76 and explained more than 56% of the total variance in both sexes. ConclusionsThe translated body image questionnaire was a valid and reliable tool which can be used in Sri Lankan adolescents. Both genders had a similar, multidimensional body image construct.

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“…Many migrant groups come from countries where being overweight is still a mark of status and well-being, 16 and while attitudes to status had changed in the present study, health was still perceived to be associated with large body size. 17 Several other studies of South Asian migrants to Britain have described worrying prevalences of obesity assumed to mark rapid fat accumulation after migration from mainly rural origins. 18 Bhatnagar et al found that migrant women from Punjab had a BMI of 27.4 kg=m 2 , compared with BMI of their siblings who remained in South Asia at 22.7 kg=m 2 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Ethnic differences in anthropometric and lifestyle measures related to coronary heart disease risk between South Asian, Italian and general-population British women living in the west of Scotland

et al. 2001

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AIMS:To compare anthropometric measurements and to define their behavioural associations in migrant and British-born South Asians (who have increased cardiovascular risk) or Italians (who have reduced cardiovascular risk), and in the general population of British women living in the west of Scotland. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of women aged 20 -42 y, selected mainly from birth registration data, which included 63 migrant South Asians, 56 British-born South Asians, 39 migrant Italians, 51 British-born Italians, and 50 subjects representative of the general population of women, all resident in the west of Scotland. MEASUREMENTS: Height, weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist and hip circumferences. RESULTS: With age adjustment, migrant South Asians (0.88) had greater waist-to-hip ratio than British-born South Asians (0.84; P < 0.05), while there was no difference between migrant (0.81) and British-born (0.79) Italian groups. Both migrant (P < 0.001) and British-born South Asian (P < 0.05) groups had higher waist-to-hip ratio and were about 3 cm shorter than Italian groups and the general population. Neither weight nor BMI were different between ethnic groups. Waist and hip circumferences were not different between migrant and British-born ethnic minority groups. Migrant South Asians (86.8 cm) had significantly (P < 0.05) larger waist circumference than the general population (78.6 cm). British-born Italian women (103.0 cm) had larger hip circumference than the general population of women (96.4 cm), while other groups had similar hip circumferences. Additional adjustments for physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and parity reduced the differences in anthropometric measurements: only waist-to-hip ratio of migrant South Asians remained significantly (P < 0.01) higher than that of the general population women. CONCLUSIONS: The adverse anthropometric indicators of cardiovascular risk in migrant South Asian women are substantially explained by their lifestyle factors and parity. British-born South Asian women are more similar to the general population women. Anthropometric differences between migrant or British-born Italians and the general population women are small.

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Body image and weight consciousness among South Asian, Italian and general population women in Britain

Cited by 60 publications

References 14 publications

Perceptions of healthy and desirable body size in urban Senegalese women

Perceptions of healthy and desirable body size in urban Senegalese women

Body image construct of Sri Lankan adolescents

Ethnic differences in anthropometric and lifestyle measures related to coronary heart disease risk between South Asian, Italian and general-population British women living in the west of Scotland

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