The Association of Sociocultural Attitude towards Body Image and Eating Disorders among College Student Girls in Tehran City, Iran

Document Type : Original Article (s)

10.22122/jims.v39i616.13823

Abstract

Background: Dissatisfaction with one's body image can cause problems such as eating disorders. The highest frequency of unhealthy nutritional behaviors and body image disorders is observed in university students. These disorders are life-threatening and difficult to diagnose.
Methods: This project was a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study on girl students in Tehran City, Iran. To assess the symptoms of eating disorders, the adapted form of Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT26) questionnaire was used, and to assess people's attitudes towards their appearance affected by cultural and social factors, the adapted form of the Socio-Cultural Attitudes towards Appearance-3 (SATA3) questionnaire was used. By a questionnaire, demographic information was measured, and students' weight and height were recorded.
Findings: The mean scores of EAT26 and SATA3 were as 10.45 ± 8.3 and 92.3 ± 19.3, respectively. There was a significant relationship between SATA3 and EAT26 questionnaires scores (P < 0.050), and for each unit of SATA score increase, EAT26 score increased by 0.161. Increased body mass index was directly related to dissatisfaction with body image. There was also a significant relationship between the duration time of using social media with dissatisfaction with body image and eating disorders.
Conclusion: In this study, a significant relationship was observed between socio-cultural attitudes about body image and eating disorders among girl students in Tehran City. Therefore, educational measures to increase students' awareness can help to prevent these disorders and increase their health.

Keywords


Ridout SJ, Ridout KK, Kole J, Fitzgerald KL, Donaldson AA, Alverson B. Comparison of eating disorder characteristics and depression comorbidity in adolescent males and females: An observational study. Psychiatry Res 2021; 296: 113650.
Shashank KJ, Praveen G, Chethan TK. A crosssectional study to asses the eating disorder among female medical students in a rural Medical College of Karnataka State. Natl J Community Med 2016; 7(6): 524-7.
Aparicio-Martinez P, Perea-Moreno AJ, Martinez-Jimenez MP, Redel-Macias MD, Pagliari C, Vaquero-Abellan M. Social media, thin-ideal, body dissatisfaction and disordered eating attitudes: An exploratory analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019; 16(21).
Barbosa-Magalhaes I, Corcos M, Galey J, Perdigao-Cotta S, Papastathi C, de CM, et al. Prevalence of lifetime eating disorders in infertile women seeking pregnancy with pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone therapy. Eat Weight Disord 2021; 26(2): 709-15.
Eftekhari MH, Ahmadi A, Khezri H, Hassanzadeh J. The prevalence of weight- controlling attitude and eating disorders and their association with anthropometric indices in female adolescent students. Yafteh 2014; 16(3): 78-84. [In Persian].
Yirga B, Assefa GY, Derso T, Wassie MM. Disordered eating attitude and associated factors among high school adolescents aged 12-19 years in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study. BMC Res Notes 2016; 9(1): 503.
Hutchinson DM, Rapee RM. Do friends share similar body image and eating problems? The role of social networks and peer influences in early adolescence. Behav Res Ther 2007; 45(7): 1557-77.
Safarzade S, Mahmoody Khorandi Z. Survey on Eating Disorders (Mental Anorexia , Bulimia) among 13-18-Year- Old Adolescents of Gonabad City in 2014. J Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci 2015; 14(5): 393-404. [In Perian].
Shafei M, Basharpour S, Hasanshiri S, Fathigilarlu M. The role of targeted control and self-descriptive physical activity in predicting eating disorder symptoms in female students. International Journal of Nations Research 2016; 9: 63-74. [In Persian].
Yousefi B, Tadibi V, Hasani Z. The effect of gender and sport on satisfaction from body areas and social - physique anxiety in Islamic Azad University students. Journal of Sport Management 2010; 2(6): 121-256. [In Persian].
Hosseini E, Talepasand S, Rahimian Boogar I. Body image and eating problems: testing a tripartite model. Iran J Psychiatry Clin Psychol 2017; 23(2): 192-207. [In Persian].
Safavi M, Mahmoodi M, Roshandel A. Assessment of body image and its relationship with eating disorders among female students of Islamic Azad University, Tehran center branch. Med Sci J Islamic Azad Univ Tehran Med Branch 2009; 19(2): 129-34. [In Persian].
Hazra A. Using the confidence interval confidently. J Thorac Dis 2017; 9(10): 4125-30.
Szabo CP, Allwood CW. Application of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) in a rural, Zulu speaking, adolescent population in South Africa. World Psychiatry 2004; 3(3): 169-71.
Thompson JK, van den Berg P, Roehrig M, Guarda AS, Heinberg LJ. The sociocultural attitudes towards appearance scale-3 (SATAQ-3): Development and validation. Int J Eat Disord 2004; 35(3): 293-304.
Mohammadpanah Ardakan A, Babapour Kheir-ol-din J, Yousefi R. Validity of Persian version of socio-cultural attitudes towards appearance questionnaire (SATAQ-3) using factor analysis. Dermatol Cosmet 2014; 5(1): 22-32. [In Persian].
Uchoa FNM, Uchoa NM, Daniele TMDC, Lustosa RP, Garrido ND, Deana NF, et al. Influence of the mass media and body dissatisfaction on the risk in adolescents of developing eating disorders. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019; 16(9).
Miri N. Association between eating disorders and body image in athletes and non-athlete students in Qazvin University of Medical Sciences. J Qazvin Univ Med Sci 2016; 20(2): 26-33. [In Persian].
Naderian Jahromi M, Pazhouhan F. A sociological analysis of factors affecting the tendency of youth to manage the body (Case study: 16-18 youth in Isfahan). Strategic Research on Social Problems in Iran 2020; 8(4): 1-4. [In Persian].
Poursharifi H, Hashemi nosrat Abad T, Ahmadi M. Comparison of body image problems and social physique anxiety between obese and normal weight adolescents: The moderating role of sociocultural influence on weight loss and body change. Journal of Health Psychology 2017; 6(21): 86-103. [In Persian].
Song HJ, Moon HK. Body image, risk of disturbed eating attitudes and weight control of female junior high school students by the body mass index in Seoul. Korean J Community Nutr 2014; 19(2): 111.
Ntim CN, Sarfo JO. Body image and eating disorders among female students: a pilot nutritional psychology study in Ghana. Journal of Advocacy, Research and Education 2015; 2(1): 54-7.
Bennett BL, Whisenhunt BL, Hudson DL, Wagner AF, Latner JD, Stefano EC, et al. Examining the impact of social media on mood and body dissatisfaction using ecological momentary assessment. J Am Coll Health 2020; 68(5): 502-8.
Shamsaldin Saeed N, Forouzi M, Mohammadalizadeh S, Haghdoost A, Garrusi B. Relationship between body image and eating disorders. Iran J Nurs Res 2010; 4(15): 33-43. [In Persian].
de Souza Ferreira JE, da Veiga GV. Eating disorder risk behavior in Brazilian adolescents from low socio-economic level. Appetite 2008; 51(2): 249-55.
Nevonen L, Norring C. Socio-economic variables and eating disorders: a comparison between patients and normal controls. Eat Weight Disord 2004; 9(4): 279-84.