Sociological
Communication
Biosci. Biotech. Res. Comm. 9(1):
Relationship between body image and eating disorders: A case study of females between
Bijan Khajrnoori and Roodabeh Dehghani*
Department of Sociology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
ABSTRACT
Research on the etiology, prevention, and treatment of eating disorders has increased over the past 3 decades, but in Iran there is no sociological study about eating disorders. So in this study, eating disorders has been verified from a sociological perspective. Variables such as ICTs use,
KEY WORDS: BODY IMAGE; BRSC; EATING DISORDERS; PARENTS’ ATTITUDES; PEER ATTITUDES; SHIRAZ
INTRODUCTION
There is general agreement about the criteria for diag- nosis of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) (American Psychiatric Association (Nietzel and Wakefield 1994, Fairburn and Harrison (2005). Eating disorders are characterized by severe disturbances in eating behaviors and attitudes. Both AN and BN are characterized by weight preoccupa-
ARTICLE INFORMATION:
*Corresponding Author: Received 10th March, 2016
Accepted after revision 31st March, 2016 BBRC Print ISSN:
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tion, fear of fat and a sense of self unduly influenced by weight and body shape concerns (APA 2000). When distinctions between AN and BN are drawn, it is usu- ally because of weight and associated medical compli- cations. People with AN are underweight while people with BN tend to be of average or
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Bijan Khajrnoori and Roodabeh Dehghani
Disorder (BED). However, people with BED usually suffer from binge eating episodes without the compensatory behaviors seen in BN. There seems to be agreement that eating disorders result in serious physical, psychological, and social difficulties and dysfunction
Body image is an important aspect of
Many influences have been noted as formative in the development and maintenance of
Stice et al., (2002) have also concluded that not only family pressures, but peer pressure also influence body image. Being ridiculed by friends for the weight and pressure of being thinner affects the state of being con- sent with the body. One of the most important factors related with the developing of ED is the social standard of beauty and thinness that appears in the media (Ditt- mar et al. 2000). As applied to body image disturbance and eating disorder development, researchers propose that images of models displayed prominently in the media serve as comparison others. When women com- pare themselves to models in mainstream media, they are evaluating themselves in comparison to a very specific ideal female physique, whereas media is correlated with the internalization of thin- ideal, body dissatisfaction. If women internalize these ideals but do not conform to them, and have friends and family members who do, then they would be in an upward social comparison pro- cess, and likely feel body dissatisfaction (Warren 2006).
Studies around the world confirm that a relatively large proportion of teenage girls are encountered with
eating disorders. Teens, especially girls, in most cases, pay special attention to their weight and body shape, and often in an attempt to deal with the pressures asso- ciated with changes in the critical and challenging period of puberty, adopt wrong eating habits. Therefore, this exposure may cause nutritional behavior problems (Rustaee et al. 2009).
Although exact statistics about the use of weight loss drugs are not available in Iran, according to Ham- shahri News Agency reports; Sales of weight loss drugs are high, which itself is indicative of high expenses that people undertake for these drugs. But aside from the negative side effects of these medications, the problem is lack of proper drug effect. Despite the cost of the drugs, the result is not desired. This makes people adopt wrong eating habits, and face anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
Eating disorders deserve attention for two major rea- sons (APA 2000). First, the mortality rate for those who do meet the criteria for eating disorders is between 5 and 12%, indicating that eating disorders are indeed some of the most serious mental illnesses. In general, “eating disorders have the highest levels of treatment seeking, inpatient hospitalization, suicide attempts, and mortality of common psychiatric syndromes” (Daniels 2009). In addition, eating pathology increases the risk for future onset of obesity, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and health problems (Johnson, et al. 2002,Stice et al. 1999,Stice et al. 2000).
In the meantime, no major sociological research on eating disorders and their relationship with social fac- tors has been done in Shiraz yet. Given the fact that Shiraz is one of the major metropolises in Iran, as well as ethnic and cultural diversity of the city, conducting research on factors related to body image, which can have a significant cultural dimension is important.The questions examined in this study include how much is the frequency of eating disorders among girls and young women? What are the factors affecting eating disorders and what are the direct and indirect impacts of factors affecting eating disorders through body image? Which one is more important and the most effective?
MATERIAL AND METHODS
This study has been done through survey method. The tools for data collection were self- reported question- naires. As Zhang et al explain, in
The total girls and women between 15 to 29 years old of Shiraz are 36237. Based on Lin table, the sample size was 600. The method was
INDEPENDENT VARIABLES
ICT use
A composite measure of weekly viewing was con- structed to account for using ICTs. Participants reported how muchthey watch television during every week, from “not at all” to “very much”. These data were weighted and combined to create an average weekly viewing.
To measure likelihood to engage in comparisons with peers, family members and models, Participants answered the question how often they compare their “overall body” to members of their own sex (e.g., how often do you compare your overall body to that of peers).
PARENTAL ATTITUDES REGARDING BODY
The parental influence section from the Tripartite Influ- ence Model of Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Distur- bances with Adolescent Girls (Berg et al. 2002) with some changes was used to measure perceptions of parental atti- tudes toward weight and body shape. The index included five statements using a
PEER ATTITUDES REGARDING BODY
The same questions were used to measure percep- tions of peer attitudes toward weight and body shape. The index included five statements using a
BODY IMAGE
Two measures were used for body image: body areas- satisfaction,
Bijan Khajrnoori and Roodabeh Dehghani
aspects of body image (i.e., what people perceive about their bodies such as weight, physical characteristics, and attractiveness).
BODY AREAS SATISFACTION
A modifed version of Body Areas Satisfaction Scale (Cash 1989) wasused to measure participants’ satisfac- tion, ranging from1 (very dissatisfied) to5 (verysatisfied), with specific areas of the body such aslower torso (e.g., hips, legs), mid torso (waist, stomach), upper torso (e.g., breasts, arms), muscle tone, weight, and height. Higher scores indicate satisfaction with most areas of the body. The internal consistency of this scale was high in this study (α = 0.93).
A modified version of The
EATING DISORDERS
Eating disorder symptoms has been measured by the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale (EDDS) in this study. The EDDS consists of a diagnostic scale and a symp- tom composite scale. The diagnostic scale can be used to diagnose AN, BN and BED. The symptom compos- ite score indicates participants’ overall level of eating pathology. The EDDS (Stice et al. 2000) contains items assessing the
HYPOTHESES
1.There is relationship between
Bijan Khajrnoori and Roodabeh Dehghani
2.There is relationship between family attitudes to- ward body and eating disorder.
3.There is relationship between friends’ attitudes to- ward body and eating disorder.
4.There is relationship between body satisfaction and eating disorder.
5.There is relationship between
6.There is relationship between ICT use and social comparison.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
We used the EDDS to assess AN, BN and BED. Because most patients with eating disorders do not fulfill a full syndrome diagnosis (Fairburn & Harrison 2003), we decided to include both full and sub threshold EDDS diagnoses of AN, BN and BED, similar to (Sticeet al.2004). Sub threshold diagnoses required the presence of all of the symptoms of the disorder, but the severity
Table 1: Frequency of Anorexia, Bulimia,
and Bing Eating Disorder (N=602)
of one of these symptoms was of sub diagnostic sever- ity (e.g. binge eating only once per 2weeks or having a body mass index of less than 18.5). Based on the EDDS, the sample (N=602) included 95persons with AN, 107 persons with BN, and 60 persons with BED.
According to Table 2, the following statements can be stated:
1.There is a positive correlation between the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and body- related social comparison. The use of ICT makes the person involved in the pro- cess of social comparison, with models that are observed in the media and with friends, peers and family members.
2.There is a negative correlation between body- relat- ed social comparison and body satisfaction. In fact, we can say that with increasing social comparison, body satisfaction will be reduced. According to the theory of social comparison, we can say that the people involved in the media images are comparing their bodies with a perfect body. Also, according to this theory, we can say that when people do not match to these images, and they find friends and people around them are matched to those images, then they may face upward social comparison and as a result, experience body dissatisfaction.
3.There is a positive correlation between
4.There is a positive correlation between body- re- lated social comparison and eating disorders. by increasing social comparison among individuals, eating disorders increase.
5.There is a negative correlation between attitude of parents towards the body and body satisfaction. It
Table 2: Correlations, Means and Standard Deviations of Variables (N=602).
Note: * p≤0.05, **p<0..01
Bijan Khajrnoori and Roodabeh Dehghani
Bijan Khajrnoori and Roodabeh Dehghani
well as the great difference between their physical body and their ideal.
On the other hand, dissatisfaction with body and self- discrepancy both affect eating disorders. When body dis- satisfaction and
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