Body size ideals and body satisfaction among Dutch-origin and African-origin residents of Amsterdam: The HELIUS study

Abstract

Objective Obesity is highly prevalent among ethnic minorities and acceptance of larger body sizes may put these ethnic minorities at risk of obesity. This study aimed to examine body size ideals and body satisfaction in relation to body weight, in two Sub-Saharan African (SSA)-origin groups in the Netherlands compared to the Dutch. Additionally, in the two SSA-origin groups, this study assessed the mediating role of acculturation in the relation between ethnicity and body size ideals and body satisfaction. Methods Dutch, African Surinamese and Ghanaians living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, participated in the observational HELIUS study (n = 10,854). Body size ideals were assessed using a validated nine figure scale. Body satisfaction was calculated as the concordance of current with ideal figure. Acculturation was only assessed among SSA-origin participants and acculturation proxies included age of migration, residence duration, ethnic identity and social network. Weight and height were measured using standardised protocols. Results SSA-origin women and Ghanaian men had larger body size ideals compared to the Dutch; e.g. Surinamese and Ghanaian women had 0.37 (95%CI 0.32; 0.43) and 0.70 (95%CI 0.63; 0.78) larger body size ideals compared to Dutch women. SSA-origin participants were more often satisfied with their weight compared to the Dutch. Similarly, SSA-origin participants had more than twice the odds of being satisfied/preferring a larger figure compared to the Dutch (e.g. BSurinamese men 2.44, 95%CI 1.99; 2.99). Within the two SSA-origin groups, most acculturation proxies mediated the relation between ethnicity and body size ideals in women. Limited evidence of mediation was found for the outcome body satisfaction. Conclusion Public health strategies promoting a healthy weight may need to be differentiated according to sex and ethnic differences in body weight perception. Factors other than acculturation may underlie the ethnic differences between African Surinamese and Ghanaians in obesity.

Social body weight norms: A Population-Based Profile in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States

“…Previous research has suggested that social body weight norms may differ between immigrants and natives as well as between ethnic groups within countries. 25 For the present study, we further focused on the larger subsample of White Americans and excluded subsamples of immigrants and other ethnic groups because of small number of cases.…”

The Healthy Life in an Urban Setting (HELIUS) study in Amsterdam, The Netherlands: cohort update 2024 and key findings

“…Finally, all other categories of relational/attributional factors in Figure 1 have been shown to be important, either in explaining inequalities in health between the ethnic minority groups and the population of Dutch descent, or in identifying variation in health within the ethnic minority populations. Examples of the former include ethnic differences in genetic profile and associations with pro-diabetogenic lipid profile (95) and the gut microbiome (96), and acculturation variables explaining variation in dietary patterns (97) and in body size ideals (98).…”

Ideal Weight and Satisfaction With Weight: A Study of Life Course Trajectories and Intercohort Change

“…Satisfaction with body weight was measured as the degree of concordance between ideal BMI and current BMI, calculated from self-reports of weight and height using the standard BMI formula (3,21). Previous research has validated the difference between ideal and current BMI as a measure of dissatisfaction with weight, although the validation analyses were limited to young age (22).…”