The relative importance of dissatisfaction, overvaluation and preoccupation with weight and shape for predicting onset of disordered eating behaviors and depressive symptoms over 15 years

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to examine the relative importance of dissatisfaction, overvaluation and preoccupation with body weight and shape in predicting increases in disordered eating behaviours and depressive symptoms from adolescence through to early adulthood. Method The study involved 1,830 participants (60% female) who completed the Project EAT survey during adolescence (mean age = 14.90 years, SD = 1.65 years) and again, 15 years later, in early adulthood. Participants provided assessments of dissatisfaction, overvaluation and preoccupation with weight and shape, as well as disordered eating and depressive symptoms at both time points. Results The three aspects of body image had distinct patterns of association with the outcomes both concurrently and longitudinally. Dissatisfaction predicted depressive symptoms as well as a wide range of disordered eating outcomes, including dieting, unhealthy weight control behaviours (UWCBs), and binge eating, particularly in female participants. Preoccupation was associated with all of these disordered eating behaviours (but not with depressive symptoms) and was notably the strongest predictor of dieting and UWCBs in female participants. Overvaluation was associated with both disordered eating and depressive symptoms, although typically was a less potent predictor of difficulties than the other aspects of body image. Discussion Dissatisfaction, overvaluation and preoccupation are related but make distinct contributions to clinically significant outcomes. Models of eating disorders should move beyond focusing exclusively on dissatisfaction or overvaluation towards a broader conceptualisation of body image. Findings from the current study particularly suggest the importance of considering preoccupation with weight and shape.

Negative psychological correlates of the pursuit of muscularity among women

“…The results of our study suggest that similar to thinness‐oriented concerns (e.g., Sharpe et al, ), a drive for muscularity may represent a unique and important pathway through which ED symptoms may manifest. The drive to enhance the visibility of muscle may precipitate unhealthy cognitions and behaviors where fat loss is a primary goal (Lavender et al, ).…”

“…However, shifts in women's appearance ideals toward greater muscular leanness bring about new research questions regarding the potential costs of pursuing these ideals. For example, Rodgers et al () recently found associations between the desire to be toned with body image concerns and a drive for thinness among college women, both of which are important risk factors for eating‐disorder (ED) pathology (McLean & Paxton, ; Sharpe et al, ). Given that a crucial aspect of the toned ideal is possessing minimal body fat to enhance the visibility of muscularity, it is reasonable to suspect women with a desire to increase muscle tone may engage in ED behaviors to reduce adiposity (e.g., caloric restriction; Murray, Griffiths, & Mond, ).…”

Longitudinal bidirectional relations between body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms among Black adolescents: A cross-lagged panel analysis

“…However, it is contradictory to a cross-sectional study that reported a lack of relationship between body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms among Black adolescents mixed of healthy weight and overweight/obese status [35]. The positive relation between antecedent body dissatisfaction and later depressive symptoms supports the "thinness ideal theory" that overweight/obesity increases body dissatisfaction, and the weight-related concern or pressure [ 21,58] in turn leads to depressive symptoms [25,27]. Future studies need to assess whether the relation holds among Black adolescents from middle-class families who may have mothers with a lower prevalence of overweight/obesity.…”

“…A discrepancy between ideal weight or shape and actual weight or shape can result in body dissatisfaction, which leads to depressive symptoms [20]. This theory has been supported by longitudinal studies that reported body dissatisfaction as a risk factor for subsequent depressive symptoms [22][23][24][25][26][27]. However, a reverse relation has also been proposed.…”

The Use of 3D Bodies in a Computerised and Immersive Virtual Reality Body Image Intervention

“…Body image has been found to influence day-to-day functioning, mental health, psychopathology (e.g. feelings of shame, depression, and anxious thoughts [4]), selfesteem, social interactions and quality of life [5,6,7]. Disturbance of the perceptual component, body image distortion (BID) is the discrepancy between ones' actual body size and the perception of their own body size.…”