title: Television exposure predicts body size ideals in rural Nicaragua.
abstract: Internalization of a thin ideal has been posited as a key risk factor in the development of pathological eating attitudes. Cross-culturally, studies have found a preference for heavier bodies in populations with reduced access to visual media compared to Western populations. As yet, however, there has been little attempt to control for confounding variables in order to isolate the effects of media exposure from other cultural and ecological factors. Here, we examined preferences for female body size in relation to television consumption in Nicaraguan men and women, while controlling for the potential confounding effects of other aspects of Westernization and hunger. We included an urban sample, a sample from a village with established television access, and a sample from a nearby village with very limited television access. The highest BMI preferences were found in the village with least media access, while the lowest BMI preferences were found in the urban sample. Data from the rural sample with established television access were intermediate between the two. Amongst rural women in particular, greater television consumption was a stronger predictor of body weight preferences than acculturation, education, hunger, or income. We also found some evidence for television consumption increasing the likelihood of women seeking to lose weight, possibly via body shape preferences. Overall, these results strongly implicate television access in establishing risk factors for body image disturbances in populations newly gaining access to Western media.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Durham University, UK. l.g.boothroyd@dur.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Lynda G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Boothroyd
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Durham University, UK.|University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast, Bluefields, Nicaragüense.
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Jucker
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: Tracey
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Thornborrow
authors.affiliation: School of Social Science, University of East London, UK.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Jamieson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Durham University, UK.
authors.forename: D Michael
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Burt
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Durham University, UK.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Barton
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: Elizabeth H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: Martin J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Tovee
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D049628:Body Size; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009527:Nicaragua; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013690:Television; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Nicaragua; attraction; body weight preference; television exposure; thin ideal