Menstrual cycle, body image, and eating disturbance

Abstract

Sixty females (ages 17–25) were blocked into four groups on the basis of contraceptive use (pill, non‐pill) and level of menstrual distress (high, low). All subjects were tested for levels of body image and eating disturbance during three phases of the menstrual cycle: menstrual, intermenstrual, premenstrual. High menstrual distress subjects had greater body image and eating disturbance than low distress subjects. There was marginal evidence that body image disturbance for the high menstrual distress subjects was greater perimenstrually (premenstrual plus menstrual). There was also suggestive evidence that subjects overestimated the size of the waist greater perimenstrually. The findings are discussed with regard to etiological mechanisms, methodological issues, and treatment implications.

Fluctuations in body satisfaction across situations

“…Surprisingly, the authors failed to report if feelings of fatness and body size estimation were affected by the two types of meals. Cash, Cash, and Butters (1983) explored whether being exposed to persons with different levels of attractiveness would affect one's self-evaluation of physical attractiveness and/or body satisfaction. Fifty-one female college students were exposed to one of two sets of pictures of models-one set reflecting "average to unattractive" levels of physical attractiveness, and the other reflecting "above average" levels of physical attractiveness.…”

“…Another explanation was that the photographs did not exert as strong an effect as would actual stimulus persons. Given their research design, Cash et al (1983) could not make any inferences about the sensitivity of any individual's body satisfaction to situational variables, since each subject was exposed to only one condition. Altabe and Thompson (1990) examined whether satisfaction with physical appearance might fluctuate over the course of the menstrual cycle.…”

Situations connected with perceived loss of femininity: menopause and mastectomy – changes in perceiving oneself as a woman

“…Cykl miesięczny u kobiet traktowany jest jako jeden z atrybutów kobiecości, obok możliwości rodzenia dzieci czy karmienia piersią, i stąd jest ważny dla obrazu siebie i wiedzy o sobie [3]. Obraz siebie zmienia się podczas faz cyklu miesięcznego w zależności od stężeń hormonów [4,5], zmienia się również po pojawieniu się menopauzy. Menopauza jest oceniana przez kobiety jako doświadczenie raczej negatywne [6], często ujmowane w kategoriach straty [7], jednocześnie negatywna ocena sprzyja doświadczaniu w sposób silniejszy depresji, osłabienia, bólów głowy itp.…”

Body size estimation: Testing a new mirror‐based assessment method

“…The most important of these are hunger (Gardner & Tockerman, 1993), mood (Baker, Williamson, & Sylve, 1995), and point in the menstrual cycle (Altabe & Thompson, 1990). Therefore, at the start of each session, participants were asked to rate their mood and hunger on visual analog scales and to report the time since their last menstrual period.…”