A selection of abstracts presented at the British Dietetic Association Annual Conference, Manchester, UK: 15–17 September 2009

Abstract

Background: Research indicates that 80% of women are dissatisfied with body image (Thompson, 1990). Moreover, several studies suggest that female dancers, as a sub-group compared with the general population, have stronger notions to perfecting the ideal body image (Brown, 1999; Anshel, 2004). This study aimed to investigate body image estimation (BIE) and body image dissatisfaction (BID) of female dance students and to determine whether they are more at risk of pathological disorders such as bulimia nervosa (BN). Methods: All female students, currently studying Dance at Liverpool John Moores University, were invited to take part in the study via e-mail. Those who agreed to participate had their weight and height measured and body mass index (BMI) calculated. Each subject was photographed with a digital camera and the image was loaded into the software 'Anamorphic micro' (Symplex software, Liverpool, UK). This software was used to determine BIE and BID by asking subjects to alter their image to 'how they think they look' and 'how they would like to look' and comparing the two images. Subjects were also asked to complete the 'Bulimic Inventory Test' questionnaire (BITE, Edinburgh) to assess behavioral risk factors for BN. Comparisons were made using Pearson's correlation test and one-way ANOVA, with P < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: Twenty-three women agreed to take part in the study. Mean (SD) age was 20.7 (3.1) years (range 18-32 years) and mean BMI was 22.3 (2.1 ) kg m )2 (range 18-26 kg m )2 ). Mean score (SD) for BIE was 109.6% (12.3%) (range 88.5-138.0%), with scores >100 indicating over-estimation of size. Mean (SD) BID score was 88.3% (12.3%) (range 46.0-101.5%), with scores <100 indicating a desire to be thinner. The mean (SD) score for the BITE questionnaire was 11.4 (8.0) (range 1-38), with scores >10 and >25 indicating symptoms of disordered eating and of BN, respectively. There was no statistically significant relationship observed between either scores from the BITE questionnaire (risk of BN) or BMI, in relation to BIE and BID. Discussion: Despite a low mean BMI, indicating a healthy weight for height, 78% of this group of women would like to be thinner than they actually are. Nineteen students (84%) over-estimated their size and 12 students (52%) received positive scores for disordered eating, with two scoring for BN. Students of all BMI classifications overestimated their size and desired to be thinner. The only students who accurately estimated BIE and had no BID were a minority of students with normal BMI (18.5-20.0). Overweight students tended to over-estimate their size and score higher for BID more than other students, and could have greater risks for ED, but this relationship was not significant (P > 0.05) Conclusions: Dance students have high levels of BID and could be at increased risk of developing eating disorders. ReferencesAnshel, M. (2004) Sources of disordered eating patterns between ballet dancers and non-dancers.