Disordered eating behaviours, body image and social networking in a type 1 diabetes population

Abstract

The purpose of this study was twofold: to examine predictors of disordered eating behaviours and body image dissatisfaction, including social networking, among type 1 diabetes population, and to qualitatively explore the relationship between type 1 diabetes management and body image. A convenience sample of 121 type 1 diabetes patients ( F = 106; Mage = 36 ± 6.5) was collected via online questionnaires, of which 98 patients responded to two open-ended questions. Young age and negative body image explained 58.8 per cent of disordered eating variance, while body weight and social networking negatively contributed to poor body image (29.9%). Qualitative analysis revealed three themes: no control over body weight, limitation in clothing options and discomfort towards medical equipment.

Body Image Problems and Disordered Eating Behaviors in Italian Adolescents With and Without Type 1 Diabetes: An Examination With a Gender-Specific Body Image Measure

“…Overall, the current findings corroborate the existing research on general and T1D populations supporting the association between body image problems and DEBs ( Colton et al, 1999 ; Striegel-Moore and Debra, 2002 ; Fairburn and Harrison, 2003 ; Striegel-Moore and Bulik, 2007 ; Kichler et al, 2008 ; Troncone et al, 2016 , 2018 ; Amaral and Ferreira, 2017 ; Falcão and Francisco, 2017 ; Girard et al, 2018 ; Verbist and Condon, 2019 ; Araia et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Similarly, empirical evidence has shown that in youths and adults with T1D, the level of satisfaction with their perceptions of body image (along with other factors such as BMI, global and physical appearance-based self-worth, and depression), weight, and shape were associated with higher levels of DEB ( Kichler et al, 2008 ; Troncone et al, 2016 , 2018 ; Verbist and Condon, 2019 ). Body image dissatisfaction was described to be a significant predictor of eating problems in adolescents and young adult participants with T1D ( Falcão and Francisco, 2017 ; Araia et al, 2020 ).…”

“…In the majority of T1D studies, the body image problems have been measured as weight or body dissatisfaction and consequently evaluated by using self-report measures. Specifically, some measures consisted of items assessing dissatisfaction with body shape, weight and shape concerns, level of satisfaction with their physical appearance and significance of physical appearance ( Kichler et al, 2008 ; Olmsted et al, 2008 ; Gawlik et al, 2016 ; Verbist and Condon, 2019 ). Other measures involved gender-specific silhouettes and merely evaluated the participants’ levels of satisfaction with their weight and physical appearance by measuring differences between perceived actual size and ideal size ( Troncone et al, 2016 , 2018 ; Araia et al, 2017 , 2020 ; Falcão and Francisco, 2017 ).…”

Problematic usage of the internet and eating disorders: a multifaceted, systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In performing meta-analysis for the body dissatisfaction domain, we identified 24 studies in scope, four of which reported data separately for males and females. Pooled estimates are reported together (all studies; n = 15494) (Bair et al, 2012; Butkowski et al, 2019; Cohen and Blaszczynski, 2015; de Vries et al, 2019, 2016; Eckler et al, 2017; Hendrickse et al, 2017; Hummel and Smith, 2015; Levinson et al, 2017; McLean et al, 2015; Olenik-Shemesh and Heiman, 2017; Rodgers et al, 2020, 2019, 2013; Simpson and Mazzeo, 2017; Smith et al, 2013; Stronge et al, 2015; Tao, 2013; Terhoeven et al, 2020; Tiggemann and Miller, 2010; Veldhuis et al, 2018; Verbist and Condon, 2019; Xiaojing, 2017; Zeeni et al, 2018) and for males separately (Rodgers et al, 2020, 2019; Stronge et al, 2015; Xiaojing, 2017). The pooled estimate from all 24 studies was small, r = 0.16 (s.e.…”

The impact of psychological aspects, age, and BMI on eating disorder psychopathology among adult males and females with type 1 diabetes

“…Specifically, female sex and late adolescent/early adult age represent a high-risk period for the development of ED, which has also been supported among individuals with T1D (Colton et al, 2015). Reported correlates of ED psychopathology in adults with T1D include negative affect (Merwin et al, 2015; Moskovich et al, 2019), poorer executive functioning (Broadley et al, 2018), social media usage (Verbist and Condon, 2019), body image dissatisfaction (Verbist and Condon, 2019), depression (Olmsted et al, 2008), and anxiety (Bernstein et al, 2013). Psychological aspects such as coping strategies, insulin beliefs, and illness perceptions have been found to be associated with ED psychopathology among adolescent females with T1D, but not among adolescent males (Wisting et al, 2015).…”