Perceived ideal body size of Ghanaian women: “Not too skinny, but not too fat”

Abstract

Body size issues are gaining public health attention because of the fast rising epidemic of overweight and obesity across the globe. This study explored Ghanaian women's subjective perceptions regarding ideal body size for women.A purposive sampling strategy was employed in recruiting 36 women across the body weight spectrum from Tamale (n=17) and Accra (n=19) in Ghana. Qualitative data were obtained from in-depth interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. Data from the interviews were analysed deductively.The mean body mass index of participants was 33.5±10 kg/m 2 : 16 of the participants were obese, 8 overweight, 11 normal weight, and one underweight. The participants almost unanimously had a preference for an ideal body size slightly above the normal, but not necessarily obese. Typically described as "not too skinny, but not too fat", this preferred ideal reflected a fuller, curvier and shapelier, as opposed to the western ideal of thinner body type. Women often felt pressured by peers and family members to have a slightly heavier body size.Health education efforts are needed to focus on messages that seek to challenge existing body size perceptions that may inhibit women's willingness to maintain a healthy body weight.

Body image distortion and dissatisfaction in incarcerated women

“…Studies with free-living women agree with results presented here, revealing that not always the ideal of thinner body type is the desire of women [20,24]. In Brazil, 79.1% of the female university students had BIDiss, and 18.9% of them also mentioned the wanting a larger body [20].…”

A qualitative research synthesis of contextual factors contributing to female overweight and obesity over the life course in sub-Saharan Africa

“…Thirteen of them were primarily exploratory qualitative studies while four studies combined exploratory qualitative methods with quantitative methods (mixed-methods studies). Thirteen studies were conducted in South Africa [16,17, 18–25, 26–28], two studies in Ghana [29,30] and one study in Botswana [31] and one in Kenya [32]. The Botswana and Kenya studies were PhD dissertations while the rest were journal articles.…”

“…There were cultural expectations for adult SSA women to have large and voluptuous bodies [16,17,19,29]. An obese South African woman clearly described these cultural expectations: "According to our values and culture , it is important for a woman to have a large body .…”

Is the positive association between middle-income and rich household wealth and adult sub-Saharan African women’s overweight status modified by the level of education attainment? A cross-sectional study of 22 countries

“…Several SSA countries are experiencing nutrition and technological transitions [42], within cultural contexts with a preference for larger body sizes [3,43,44] and negative perception of structured physical activity among women and girls [45,46], which may set the stage for a future epidemic of obesityrelated NCDs. Therefore, this calls for urgency in the introduction of new studies to clearly delineate context-appropriate adiposity determinants and intervention mixes.…”