The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: results of the international body project I.
This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.
Swami
Viren
V
University of Westminster, UK. v.swami@wmin.ac.uk
Frederick
David A
DA
Aavik
Toivo
T
Alcalay
Lidia
L
Allik
Jüri
J
Anderson
Donna
D
Andrianto
Sonny
S
Arora
Arvind
A
Brännström
Ake
A
Cunningham
John
J
Danel
Dariusz
D
Doroszewicz
Krystyna
K
Forbes
Gordon B
GB
Furnham
Adrian
A
Greven
Corina U
CU
Halberstadt
Jamin
J
Hao
Shuang
S
Haubner
Tanja
T
Hwang
Choon Sup
CS
Inman
Mary
M
Jaafar
Jas Laile
JL
Johansson
Jacob
J
Jung
Jaehee
J
Keser
Askin
A
Kretzschmar
Uta
U
Lachenicht
Lance
L
Li
Norman P
NP
Locke
Kenneth
K
Lönnqvist
Jan-Erik
JE
Lopez
Christy
C
Loutzenhiser
Lynn
L
Maisel
Natalya C
NC
McCabe
Marita P
MP
McCreary
Donald R
DR
McKibbin
William F
WF
Mussap
Alex
A
Neto
Félix
F
Nowell
Carly
C
Alampay
Liane Peña
LP
Pillai
Subash K
SK
Pokrajac-Bulian
Alessandra
A
Proyer
René T
RT
Quintelier
Katinka
K
Ricciardelli
Lina A
LA
Rozmus-Wrzesinska
Malgorzata
M
Ruch
Willibald
W
Russo
Timothy
T
Schütz
Astrid
A
Shackelford
Todd K
TK
Shashidharan
Sheeba
S
Simonetti
Franco
F
Sinniah
Dhachayani
D
Swami
Mira
M
Vandermassen
Griet
G
van Duynslaeger
Marijke
M
Verkasalo
Markku
M
Voracek
Martin
M
Yee
Curtis K
CK
Zhang
Echo Xian
EX
Zhang
Xiaoying
X
Zivcic-Becirevic
Ivanka
I
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D008875:Middle Aged; D012923:Social Class; D055815:Young Adult