Can Parental Body Dissatisfaction Predict That of Children? A Study on Body Dissatisfaction, Body Mass Index, and Desire to Diet in Children Aged 9–11 and Their Families

Abstract

Body image has been associated with self-care and the assumption of either healthy habits or poor diets and eating disorders. As a vital element in the formation of a positive body image, the role of the family in childhood has been highlighted by a few studies. This study aimed to assess whether children’s body dissatisfaction could be predicted by their parents’ body dissatisfaction, body mass index (BMI), and approach to change. The sample consisted of 581 participants (366 parents and 215 children). The following instruments were used: anthropometric data, the Brief Scale of Body Dissatisfaction for Children, the IMAGE questionnaire (approach to change and drive for muscularity subscales), and the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness subscales). The results indicated that 19% of children, 22.8% of mothers, and 70.2% of fathers were overweight or obese. The multiple regression models developed for boys and girls explained 60 and 57% of the variance in body dissatisfaction, respectively. Several variables attributable to the mother (higher approach to change, higher drive for thinness, and higher BMI) and to the boys themselves (drive for muscularity, approach to change, and having a high BMI percentile) predicted a higher level of body dissatisfaction. For girls, only variables regarding themselves (approach to change, age, and BMI percentile) explained their body dissatisfaction. Relationships with the traits of the father were not detected for both models. The influence of sociocultural factors on the construction of gender and the negative consequences of mothers’ dieting for aesthetic purposes, on the development of children’s body image, are discussed.

Perceptions of the Body and Body Dissatisfaction in Primary Education Children According to Gender and Age. A Cross-Sectional Study

“…This is verified by visualizing the difference between the current perception of the body, which is generally perceived larger as age increases, and the desired body, whose values are lower than those of the students' current perception. The disparities between the data are especially notable in students aged 9 and 12, with no differences being found in schoolchildren aged 10 and 11, which is consistent with the idea that there is a current trend towards body dissatisfaction at younger ages [6,22,28,29,61].…”

“…Regarding age, when analyzing the current perception of students, it is the 10-and 12-year-old schoolchildren who perceive themselves with a larger figure [59] compared to their 9-and 11-year-old peers. For this reason, and as in other investigations [6,22,28,29], body dissatisfaction begins in ages prior to puberty. As for the desired body, the youngest (9 years old) are those who want a smaller figure compared to the older ones.…”

“…Body image is a multidimensional theoretical construction that begins in childhood [ 6 ] and continues into preadolescence and adolescence [ 10 , 27 ], beginning between 9 and 12 years of age in girls and between 10 and 13 years in boys [ 6 ]. Body dissatisfaction can begin at ages prior to puberty [ 6 , 22 , 28 , 29 ]. Mancilla et al [ 28 ] confirm that preschool children are competent to assess their physical proportions and contrast different weights.…”

“…Before puberty, there are extremely important body, brain, sexual, emotional, and social changes [ 6 ], and consequently, this is when more dissatisfaction with one’s own body can occur [ 32 , 33 ]. Therefore, this is a critical stage in body image construction [ 22 , 29 ], so interventions aimed at body dissatisfaction should be carried out from early adolescence [ 34 ].…”

“…On the other hand, male issues are not as well researched in relation to body dissatisfaction [ 46 ]. Therefore, body dissatisfaction could be approaching an equal prevalence between boys and girls [ 29 ].…”