Search results

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether reading a self-help chapter on the body's regulation of weight can change weight control beliefs, and whether such changes in turn predict improvements in body dissatisfaction and self-esteem.

Participants of a mixed racial sample of undergraduate college women (n=154) completed measures of personal weight control beliefs, body dissatisfaction, self-esteem and knowledge before and after they read a self-help education chapter.

Exposure to the education was associated with improvement in knowledge, body dissatisfaction and self-esteem and change in weight control beliefs. Increase in the belief in “striving for a healthy lifestyle with acceptance of one's natural weight” predicted improvement in body dissatisfaction and self-esteem.

This paper provides preliminary evidence that realistic information about weight control can impact weight control beliefs, and that this in turn is associated with improvement in body satisfaction and self-esteem. The major limitation of the study is the lack of control group to ensure changes are not due to factors like social desirability. Future directions would be to replicate this research using a control group, and to look at the role of education and weight control beliefs in eating disordered and bariatric populations.

This is the first study to look at the impact of providing young women with realistic information about the body's regulation of weight and weight loss outcomes on their beliefs about weight control, body dissatisfaction and self-esteem. This information is valuable for health care providers and educators working with young women.

The purpose of this paper is to assess multidimensional body image concerns in a sample of obese women seeking bariatric surgery at an outpatient hospital clinic in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

A sample of obese adult women seeking bariatric surgery at an outpatient medical clinic in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (n=148) completed various self-report measures of body image concerns, including body image dysphoria, body image quality of life, body image investment, and appearance satisfaction. Participant scores were compared to normative data. Correlations between body image concern measures and body mass index (BMI) were examined.

Participants endorsed more body image dysphoria, more negative body image quality of life, and less appearance satisfaction than normative samples. BMI was not correlated with body image concern scores.

Interventions aimed at reducing body image disturbance in obese women should target multiple components of body image concern. Decisions about who should receive interventions should not be based on BMI status.

The majority of research on body image concerns focuses exclusively on evaluative constructs such as body image dissatisfaction. The current study examined affective, cognitive, and behavioural body image constructs. A better understanding of the multidimensional nature of body image concerns in obese women seeking bariatric surgery informs the development of effective, targeted interventions.