Gender and Ethnic Differences in the Association Between Body Image Dissatisfaction and Binge Eating Disorder among Blacks

Abstract

Ethnic variation in the link between body image dissatisfaction and binge eating may be due to within-race cultural differences in body image between African Americans and Caribbean Blacks. This may include different definitions, norms, and expectations regarding the body size. Findings suggest that ethnicity may bias relevance of body image dissatisfaction as a diagnostic criterion for binge eating disorders among diverse populations of Blacks.

Low Family Support and Risk of Obesity among Black Youth: Role of Gender and Ethnicity

“…Previous research has also shown that race, ethnicity, gender, and their intersections alter psychological correlates of obesity [22,26,29,30]. Differences in psychosocial determinants of obesity between African American males, African American females, Caribbean Black males, and Caribbean Black females have been previously reported [17,20,28]. …”

“…Research has shown that race, ethnicity, gender, and their intersections alter psychosocial determinants of obesity [17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33]. Ethnic groups, for example, differ in the salience of psychosocial factors on obesity [29].…”

Binge eating and binge‐eating disorder in Black women: A systematic review

“…Most studies reported cross‐sectional findings ( n = 17; 44.7%) (Azarbad et al, ; Cachelin et al, ; Fitzgibbon et al, ; Gayle et al, ; Harrington et al, ; Harrington et al, ; Higgins et al, ; Hrabosky & Grilo, ; Jarosz et al, ; Kelly, Cotter, & Mazzeo, ; Lydecker et al, ; Lydecker & Grilo, ; Mazzeo et al, ; Mitchell & Mazzeo, ; Shuttlesworth & Zotter, ; Striegel‐Moore et al, ; Udo et al, ). Additional studies included secondary data analyses of cross‐sectional data ( n = 3; 7.8%) (Adamus‐Leach et al, ; Kelly et al, ; Wilson et al, ), secondary data analyses of population‐based longitudinal studies ( n = 4; 10.5%) (Marcus et al, ; Munn‐Chernoff et al, ; Smith et al, ; Striegel‐Moore et al, ); secondary analyses of large, representative data sets of Black respondents ( n = 4; 10.5%) (Assari, ; Blostein et al, ; Marques et al, ; Taylor et al, ), and secondary analyses of RCT's ( n = 3; 7.8%) (Lydecker et al, ; Mama et al, ; Thompson‐Brenner et al, ). The remaining studies were: (a) a focus group study (Scott et al, ); (b) case–control design studies ( n = 4; 10.3%) (Grilo et al, ; Pike et al, ; Striegel‐Moore et al, ; Striegel‐Moore et al, ); and (c) randomized clinical trials ( n = 2; 5.3%) examining the change in BE over time (Goode et al, ; Grilo et al, ).…”

“…Nine studies examined racial differences in eating disorder pathology (e.g., concerns about weight, shape, restraint, as measured by the EDE) (Blostein et al, ; Grilo et al, ; Hrabosky & Grilo, ; Kelly et al, ; Kelly, Mitchell, et al, ; Lydecker & Grilo, ; Shuttlesworth & Zotter, ; Striegel‐Moore et al, ; Udo et al, ). In four of the nine studies (44%), no racial differences in ED psychopathology were observed, and Black and White women reported similar concerns about weight, shape, and eating (Grilo et al, ; Lydecker & Grilo, ; Striegel‐Moore et al, ; Udo et al, ).…”

“…Thirteen studies investigated correlates of BE in Black women (Adamus‐Leach et al, ; Assari, ; Azarbad et al, ; Blostein et al, ; Harrington et al, ; Harrington et al, ; Higgins et al, ; Mazzeo et al, ; Mitchell & Mazzeo, ; Shuttlesworth & Zotter, ; Striegel‐Moore et al, ; Striegel‐Moore et al, ; Wilson et al, ). Four of the 13 studies (31%) reported a positive association between depressive symptoms and BE (Adamus‐Leach et al, ; Azarbad et al, ; Mazzeo et al, ; Mitchell & Mazzeo, ).…”