Sociocultural Theories of Eating Disorders

Prevalence and correlates of weight gain attempts across five countries

“…The results from this study showed that over 10% of men recruited from five high-or middle-income countries reported weight gain attempts in the past 12 months at the time of study. Consistent with hypotheses, and theories outlining the gendered nature of weight and shape-related social pressures (Ata et al, 2015;Donovan et al, 2020;Tylka, 2011Tylka, , 2021, this prevalence in men was approximately double that of women with modest effect size. Interestingly, the prevalence of weight gain attempts among men in this study was lower than that Race/ethnicity categories in each country as per census questions asked in each country: Australia: majority = only speaks English at home, minority = speaks a language besides English at home; Canada: majority = "White (European descent)," minority = any other race/ethnicity; Mexico: majority = nonindigenous, minority = indigenous; United Kingdom: majority = "White," minority = any other race/ethnicity; United States: majority = "White," minority = any other race/ethnicity.…”

“…Specifically, the ideal male body in "Westernized" societies is characterized by a highly muscular and lean build (Baghurst, Hollander, Nardella, & Haff, 2006;Murray et al, 2017;Pope, Khalsa, & Bhasin, 2017), while the female body ideal is characterized by toned muscularity and appearing "fit" and slender . These social pressures towards muscularity, particularly for men, may lead individuals across a range of body weights and shapes to engage in weight gain efforts in an attempt to increase muscularity (McCabe, Ricciardelli, & Finemore, 2002;McCreary, Sasse, Saucier, & Dorsch, 2004), as emphasized by sociocultural theories (Ata, Schaefer, & Thompson, 2015;Donovan, Uhlmann, & Loxton, 2020;Tylka, 2011Tylka, , 2021.…”

“…Guided by frameworks highlighting the role of pressures related to shape and weight (Ata et al, 2015;Donovan et al, 2020;Tylka, 2011Tylka, , 2021, prior research has identified several distinct factors related to weight gain attempts. First, consistent with the greater emphasis on lean, bulky muscularity characterizing the male body ideal versus the fit, toned muscularity (with less emphasis on bulk) characterizing the female body ideal, studies have shown that men are more likely than women to endorse efforts to increase weight (Minnick et al, 2020;Nagata, Garber, Tabler, Murray, & Bibbins-Domingo, 2018;Solmi et al, 2020).…”

Self‐objectification and disordered eating: A meta‐analysis

“…Research suggests that certain environments may increase vulnerability to the development of eating disorders and disordered eating (Striegel‐Moore, Silberstein, & Rodin, ). In particular, accruing evidence suggests that environments that promote the importance of physical appearance significantly contribute to disordered eating attitudes and behaviors (Ata, Schaefer, & Thompson, ). Objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, ), which originated within a feminist framework but has since been expanded to address eating disturbances observed in men, is a sociocultural theory of eating disturbance that attempts to explain how social environments in which the female form is viewed as an aesthetic object to be evaluated by others contributes to the disproportionately high rates of disordered eating observed in girls and women.…”

Associations of observer’s gender, Body Mass Index and internalization of societal beauty ideals to visual body processing

“…Furthermore, we extended our investigation to faces and control stimuli (a familiar object, i.e., a Coca Cola bottle), to ascertain whether any gender difference relates to visual strategies in perceiving the body only or if it also extends to non-corporeal objects. Given the importance of the internalization of beauty ideals (i.e., thinness and muscularity ideals) in the development of body image and eating disturbances (see Ata, Schaefer, & Thompson, 2015;Thompson & Stice, 2001 for a review), we also asked whether gender differences in the visual processing of female and male bodies are associated with societal and interpersonal aspects of beauty ideals as well as disordered eating traits. To this aim, two selfreport scales were administered, namely 'The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire' (SATAQ-4, Heinberg, Thompson, & Stormer, 1995), as a measure of the assessment of sociocultural risk factors for body dissatisfaction and eating pathology, and the 'Eating Attitude Test-26′ (EAT-26, Garner, Olmsted, Bohr, & Garfinkel, 1982), as a measure of symptoms and concerns characteristic of eating disorders.…”