Body Dissatisfaction, Weight-Related Behaviours, and Health Behaviours: A Comparison Between Australian and Malaysian in Female Emerging Adults

Abstract

The presence of body dissatisfaction (BD) in non-Western countries is an important area of empirical enquiry. The results reflect collectivistic and individualistic cultures of Malaysians and Australians, respectively, whereby social approval, social acceptance, and cultural values are of high importance to Malaysians compared with the more liberal attitudes of Australians with respect to health behaviours. This study sought to compare: (1) Australian and Malaysian women on BD, thin ideal internalisation, sociocultural influences, problematic weight-related behaviours, and health behaviours; and (2) the degree to which BD is associated with health behaviours (smoking, alcohol consumption, drug use, and sexual behaviours) across the two cultures. Participants were 428 Australian females and 402 Malaysian females aged 18–25 years old. Australians had higher BD, thin ideal internalisation, family and media influences, restrained eating, and poorer health behaviours, while Malaysians had higher peer influence. There was no difference for bulimic behaviours across the two countries. BD was found to have an association with use of drugs, smoking, and sexual behaviours among Malaysian women, but not for Australian participants. The permeation of Western standards of the thin ideal due to increased industrialisation, Westernisation, and modernisation has brought about bulimic behaviours in Malaysian women, similar to that of Australian women.

Disordered Eating and Associated Risk Factors: Profiling Malaysian University Students with Disordered Eating

“…Several studies in recent years reported that BD was highly prevalent among Malaysian university students, which is alarming (Kamaria et al, 2016;Loke et al, 2022;Wong & Say, 2013). Supporting previous studies on university students from other regions (Barker & Galambos, 2007;Juarascio et al, 2011), recent studies on Malaysian university students suggested that BD was a salient and key risk factor for the development of DE in these emerging adults (Chin et al, 2020;Shagar et al, 2019;Shagar et al, 2021). Additionally, ethnicity may not be a significant predictor of DE among Malaysian university students, as Malaysian university students of all ethnicities may be similarly at risk for DE (Chin et al, 2020).…”

“…BD is defined as a negative subjective evaluation of one's own body (Stice & Shaw, 2002) which typically involves a discrepancy between one's ideal body and self-evaluation of own current body size and shape (Grogan, 2021). Multiple cross-cultural and crossnational studies have suggested that BD among university students might be similar and not culturally specific (Shagar et al, 2019;Shagar et al, 2021;Soh et al, 2006;Swami et al, 2010;Wardle et al, 2006). Several studies in recent years reported that BD was highly prevalent among Malaysian university students, which is alarming (Kamaria et al, 2016;Loke et al, 2022;Wong & Say, 2013).…”

The relationship between body dissatisfaction and attentional bias to thin bodies in Malaysian Chinese and White Australian women: a dot probe study

“…In one study, Malaysian Chinese women from urban areas of Malaysia reported greater body dissatisfaction than Australian women [ 43 ]. In another study, Australian women reported higher body dissatisfaction than Malaysian women, although effect sizes were very small [ 44 ]. Shagar and colleagues tested the tripartite model of body image in Australian and Malaysian women.…”