Background Body dissatisfaction (BD) is a growing concern in Latin America; reliable and culturally appropriate scales are vital to promote body image research in Spanish speaking Latin American countries. We validated a Latin American Spanish version of the Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BESAA; Mendelson et al., 2001). Methods The scale was translated, culturally adapted, and validated with adults in Colombia (N = 525, 65% women, Mage 24.4, SD = 9.28). We assessed factor structure (using confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis CFA and EFA), internal reliability (using Cronbach’s alpha and omega), validity (using the Body Appreciation Scale BAS and Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire SATAQ), test-retest stability (using Intraclass correlations ICC) and measurement invariance. To evaluate the generalizability of the scale, we assessed reliability, validity, and factor structure in a second sample from rural Nicaragua (N = 102, 73% women, Mage 22.2, SD = 4.72). Results The scale showed excellent internal reliability and validity across both samples. Test-retest stability and invariance across gender was established for the Colombian sample. EFA showed a three-factor structure with the subscales appearance-positive, appearance-negative and weight that was confirmed using CFA in both the Colombian and Nicaraguan sample and showed invariance across countries. Conclusion The Latin American Spanish version BESAA-LA is a psychometrically sound measure with excellent reliability, validity and invariance across gender and countries. Therefore, we recommend its use in diverse Latin American adult populations to measure body satisfaction/dissatisfaction.

Individuals with impaired gustatory perception may have altered ingestive behaviors, which contribute to unhealthy weight status and disordered eating. Whether and to what extent weight status or eating symptomatology depend on flavor perception is still a controversial issue. Thus, the ability to discriminate among different levels of sweetness/fat content was compared in three studies using twoalternative forced-choice tasks and the standardized metrics of signal detection theory (SDT). In Study 1, three body mass index groups were included: underweight, healthy normal weight, and overweight. In Study 2, volunteers were currently-ill and recovered (anorexia/bulimia nervosa) patients, and two age-and weight-matched control groups. In Study 3, SDT metrics of both populations were compared. Results showed that SDT measures identified difficulties of underweight individuals to discriminate fat levels in sugary products, while patients with eating disorders exhibited outstanding discrimination of fat ingredients.Judgment biases were also detected in both populations. This highlights importance of using SDT methodology in flavor perception research in people with weightÀ/eating-related problems. Practical ApplicationsThis paper may serve as a starting point for the establishment of a consensual methodology in the field of flavor perception using the SDT approach. Especially in populations with eating-and weight-related problems, it is both of considerable interest and a necessity to establish and promote standard metrics to provide more consistent and comparable results on the perception of sweet and fat inputs. On the one hand, SDT may be a valuable tool to deal with current methodological limitations and heterogeneity in methods used across studies. On the other, this should facilitate further study of the relationship between oral sensations and unhealthy eating and drinking behaviors to improve individuals' nutritional status and quality of life. ** Claus Vögele and Simone Munsch shared last authorship.