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Article
Publication date: 14 March 2023

Suhans Bansal, Naval Garg and Jagvinder Singh

This instant study explores the relationship between weight-based teasing and depressive symptoms in Indian college students. It further investigates the moderating effect of…

Abstract

Purpose

This instant study explores the relationship between weight-based teasing and depressive symptoms in Indian college students. It further investigates the moderating effect of gratitude on depressive symptoms occurring due to weight-based teasing.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is theoretically based on Fredrickson's broaden-and-built theory (2001). PROCESS macro in IBM SPSS v21 was used to analyze the effect of gratitude in moderation of weight-based teasing and depressive symptoms. The study used correlation and regression analysis to assess the relationship between weight-based teasing and depressive symptoms.

Findings

The study has confirmed that weight-based teasing results in the development of depressive symptoms in Indian college students. The study has also revealed that gratitude casts a significant moderating effect on depression due to weight-based teasing, i.e. a reduction in regression weight of weight-based teasing.

Originality/value

This study is the first of its kind in India and will significantly add to the national literature on teasing and depression. Further, the study will help stakeholders like educators and policymakers to formulate psychological programs based on positive psychology 2.0 and gratitude to combat the rising issue of body shaming in India.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 March 2022

Samrat Bharadwaj

As no prior attempt has been made to investigate the role of weight-related teasing (WRT) as a source of motivation towards impulsive purchase intention of weight loss dietary…

Abstract

Purpose

As no prior attempt has been made to investigate the role of weight-related teasing (WRT) as a source of motivation towards impulsive purchase intention of weight loss dietary supplements, this study aims to investigate the factors of devalued self-esteem, weight concerns, dysfunctional eating cognitions, depressive symptoms, attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control from a generation Z perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study and a cross-sectional survey design has been used along with passive research deception approach where data has been obtained from 377 obese and overweight participants from eight major Indian cities using intercept approach. Besides, verifying the questionnaire using principal component analysis and internal consistency, the provided hypotheses are evaluated by structural equation modelling and its related tests. Inductive content analysis method has also been applied for the qualitative analysis.

Findings

The findings indicate that the hypothesized factors have a considerable influence on one another, implying acceptance of all 12 proposed hypotheses. Additionally, this study suggests that generation Z individuals are swayed more by price and impulsiveness than by product quality. Even though people prefer purchasing such supplements primarily for quicker results, people fear potential health hazards in the future.

Originality/value

This study links WRT from a psychosocial perspective by focusing on youth consumer behaviour. With the limited number of works on concerned variables, this study addresses vital issues concerning generation Z individuals’ health attitude.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 April 2022

Shannon Scott, Lisa Rosen and Briana Paulman

Race and ethnicity, BMI and other factors can affect ratings of one’s experiences in school, work and other settings. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of BMI…

Abstract

Purpose

Race and ethnicity, BMI and other factors can affect ratings of one’s experiences in school, work and other settings. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of BMI, race and ethnicity and body satisfaction on the experiences of victimization in a work or academic setting. Additionally, experiences of weight/appearance-based perpetration were explored within the context of prior victimization, perpetration, BMI, race and ethnicity and body satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

A diverse sample of 1,161 female undergraduates completed a series of questionnaires online. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between body satisfaction, BMI and race and ethnicity and weight/appearance-based teasing perpetration and victimization.

Findings

Results indicated that lower body satisfaction was significantly related to an increase in weight/appearance-based victimization. Additional analyses examining the perpetration of weight/appearance-based teasing were conducted. Participants who reported experiencing victimization were also more likely to perpetrate weight/appearance-based teasing, although BMI was not associated with perpetration.

Research limitations/implications

Implications of these findings and future research directions are discussed. In particular, academic settings provide a landscape for reducing and preventing victimization because of the resources available for students in addition to policies and procedures that can be implemented.

Originality/value

The findings of this study provide evidence that various identities and beliefs, such as race and ethnicity, BMI and body satisfaction, play a role in victimization and perpetration. This study used a novel, emerging adulthood population.

Details

Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-6599

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 March 2018

Reema Tayyem, Sabika Allehdan, Hiba Bawadi, Georgianna Tuuri, Mariam Al-Mannai and Abdulrahman Obaid Musaiger

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the associations between adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’ and peers’ opinions about body weight and their actual weight status.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the associations between adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’ and peers’ opinions about body weight and their actual weight status.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 795 Jordanian adolescents, 15-18 years of age, were recruited in this study. Adolescents completed a questionnaire to evaluate their perceptions: about how their parents’ and peers’ viewed their weight, regarding any criticism of their parents and peers about their weight and if their parents compared their weight against their siblings.

Findings

The study found that the majority of non-overweight adolescents thought their parents and peers considered them to have a normal weight (94.9 and 94.6 per cent for boys, 76.6 and 85.5 per cent for girls, respectively). For obese girls, 83.4 per cent thought their parents and 91.7 per cent thought their peers perceived them as overweight. The risk of being obese was significantly related to the amount of parental criticism perceived by adolescent girls with OR = 3.9 (95 per cent CI: 1.6-9.4; P = 0.01), while perception of peer criticism showed an increased trend of risk for obesity in boys. Adolescents’ perceptions regarding parental comparisons between their body weights against their siblings’ body weight was found to increase the risk for obesity significantly among girls.

Originality/value

The current study highlights that most of the obese adolescents perceived that their parents and peers underestimated their actual weight status. While obese boys were more likely to report being criticized about their body shape by their peers, obese girls indicated that they received more criticism about their weight from their parents.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science, vol. 48 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 June 2014

Michaela M. Bucchianeri and Dianne Neumark-Sztainer

In contrast to the attention it has received in related fields of research, body image has remained understudied within the field of public health. This is highly problematic…

2244

Abstract

Purpose

In contrast to the attention it has received in related fields of research, body image has remained understudied within the field of public health. This is highly problematic, given a growing body of evidence implicating body dissatisfaction in a range of other public health concerns. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This commentary is based on a review of the public health, body image, eating disorder, and mental health literatures.

Findings

Body dissatisfaction is implicated in a range of public health concerns, including impaired psychological health (e.g. depression) and eating- and weight-related problems (e.g. eating disorders, obesity).

Originality/value

Given these associations, as well as the high levels of body dissatisfaction in the population, the authors argue for a critical need to address the prevalence of body image concerns as a public health issue worthy of greater consideration within programs and policies; dedicated funding for research on antecedents, consequences, and intervention strategies; and allocated resources for training.

Details

Journal of Public Mental Health, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5729

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 13 November 2023

Jelena Balabanić Mavrović

Abstract

Details

Eating Disorders in a Capitalist World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-787-7

Article
Publication date: 31 January 2023

Lisa H. Rosen, Shannon Scott and Briana E. Paulman

This study aims to examine whether peer victimization predicted disordered eating behaviors during emerging adulthood, and if this relationship was mediated by perceived stress.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine whether peer victimization predicted disordered eating behaviors during emerging adulthood, and if this relationship was mediated by perceived stress.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants included undergraduate females from a diverse university in the Southwestern USA who reported on their experiences of peer victimization, perceived stress and eating behaviors.

Findings

Mediation analysis revealed that perceived stress partially mediated the association between peer victimization and perceived stress. Peer victimization significantly predicted eating behaviors even after controlling for perceived stress. An exploratory analysis of the EAT-26 subscales was also conducted.

Research limitations/implications

The present study adds to the literature on peer victimization, eating behaviors and stress by allowing researchers to understand the complexity of these relationships within an emerging adulthood population. The present results can assist individuals working with this population in interventions to prevent instances of victimization, reduce stress and provide psychoeducation for eating disorders.

Originality/value

The present study adds to the literature on peer victimization, eating behaviors and stress by allowing researchers to understand the complexity of these relationships within a college population.

Details

Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-6599

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 November 2015

Stephen Kline

This paper aims to draw together research which links the moral panic about the “adipose” body during the first five years of the millennium to the worsening mental health of US…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to draw together research which links the moral panic about the “adipose” body during the first five years of the millennium to the worsening mental health of US teens. Noting the way medical advocacy biased the news coverage in the quality press in the UK, the USA and Canada through its emphasis on weight gain in child and youth populations, it reviews evidence of a relationship between eating disorders, body dissatisfaction and the mental health of teens.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on research which suggests that teens ' misperception of their body can impact their mental health, the paper proposes reflexive embodiment, defined as the way an individual interprets and evaluates their own body morphology in relationship to the medical profession’s articulation of norms for weight classes, as a new construct for exploring the impact of the medical debates about obesity.

Findings

Using data sets from the US Youth Risk Behavior Survey gathered in 2001 and 2007 to compare both weight status and weight class accuracy, the study finds evidence that teens ' perceptions of their bodies have changed more than their actual weight. Noting a complex relationship between teens ' misperception of their weight status and mental health risks associated with depression and suicide, the paper explores ways that the medical stigmatization of the adipose body, and the ensuing consequences of gendered weight bias, have consequences for teen well-being.

Research limitations/implications

This case study only provides an exploratory analysis of an hypothesis suggested by the theory of reflexive embodiment.

Practical implications

Refocus health professions on the mental health of teens.

Social implications

Evidence of health implications of reflexive embodiment adds to a growing critique of medicalization of adipose body morphology.

Originality/value

The analysis of data contributes to a growing concern about medical stigmatization of “fat” bodies as unhealthy.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 October 2021

Sarah-Jane F. Stewart and Jane Ogden

The purpose of this study is to explore how individuals with overweight and obesity living in the UK respond to the public health and media messaging surrounding COVID-19 and…

1813

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore how individuals with overweight and obesity living in the UK respond to the public health and media messaging surrounding COVID-19 and obesity.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative interview study with a think aloud protocol. A total of 10 participants self-reported to have overweight, obesity or as actively trying to lose weight were recruited through social media and were asked to think aloud whilst exposed to four sets of public health and media materials describing the link between COVID-19 and obesity. Interviews were conducted over zoom, recorded and transcribed verbatim.

Findings

Three primary themes were identified through thematic analysis: “flawed messaging”, “COVID-19 as a teachable moment” and “barriers to change”. Transcending these themes was the notion of balance. Whilst the messaging around COVID-19 and obesity was deemed problematic; for some, it was a teachable moment to facilitate change when their future self and physical health was prioritised. Yet, when focussing on their mental health in the present participants felt more overwhelmed by the barriers and were less likely to take the opportunity to change.

Practical implications

Findings hold implications for public health messaging, highlighting the need for balance between being educational and informative but also supportive, so as to achieve maximum efficacy.

Originality/value

This study offers a novel and useful insight into how the public health and media messaging concerning COVID-19 risk and obesity is perceived by those with overweight and obesity.

Details

Health Education, vol. 122 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-4283

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 October 2019

Ioannis Vassiloudis and Vassiliki Costarelli

The purpose of this paper is to investigate excess body weight and abdominal obesity in relation to selected psychosocial characteristics such as self-perception, self-esteem and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate excess body weight and abdominal obesity in relation to selected psychosocial characteristics such as self-perception, self-esteem and anxiety, in primary school children.

Design/methodology/approach

A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 528 students 10-12 years of age, randomly selected, from the area of Athens, Greece. The Greek versions of the self-perception profile for children (SPPC) and the state-trait anxiety inventory for children (STAI-C) questionnaires have been used to determine the children’s self-perception/self-esteem and the status of anxiety, respectively. Standard anthropometric measurements were also taken. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to test for possible linear correlations between data variables. One-way ANOVA and independent t-test were used to determine statistically significant differences between the means of children’s body mass index (BMI) – abdominal obesity groups. For multiple comparisons, Bonferroni post-tests were run.

Findings

Overweight and obese children and children with abdominal obesity had lower scores in all of the domains of SPPC self-perception, the SPPC global self-esteem and the STAI-C anxiety levels in comparison to normal weight children. BMI and abdominal obesity correlated negatively with each one of the five domains of the SPPC self-perception (p <0.001) and the SPPC global self-esteem (p <0.001) and positively with the STAI-C anxiety levels (p <0.005). One-way ANOVA and independent t-test revealed statistically significant differences between the means of children’s BMI and abdominal obesity groups in all the domains of SPPC self-perception (p <0.001), the SPPC global self-esteem (p <0.001) and the STAI-C anxiety levels (p <0.005). There were no gender differences in the psychometric characteristics assessed in this study.

Originality/value

Primary school children with excess body weight and abdominal obesity have increased anxiety levels and they score lower in key psychosocial characteristics, in comparison to normal weight children.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science , vol. 50 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

1 – 10 of 22