Prevalence of body image dissatisfaction among youth in the United Arab Emirates: gender, age, and body mass index differences

Abstract

The term body image dissatisfaction (BID) describes the negative perceptions that a person carries about his or her own body. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of BID among youth in the UAE and how it is affected by three variables: sex, age, and body mass index (BMI). Participants were 728 UAE federal university students who responded to the Body Shape Questionnaire. Results indicated that 36.7% of students are dissatisfied with their body image. Gender differences analysis showed a higher level of BID for men than with women. No significant differences were observed for BID among the four age groups. Significant differences were shown for BID among the four common BMI/weight categories (underweight, normal, overweight, obesity. On the light of the results, the study suggested offering awareness programs for youth about healthy practices in daily life and including health education in schools and colleges curriculum. The study discussed the findings in relation to the available literature in the area and suggested some directions and topics for future research.

The Relationship between Body Appreciation and Self-Esteem and Associated Factors among Omani University Students: An Online Cross-Sectional Survey

“…A recent study conducted among university students in the United Arab Emirates identified gender differences in the perception of body image where significantly more females desired a thinner body while males desired a heavier body [ 20 ]. However, a shift in gender disparities of body image dissatisfaction has been observed in the region where young men showed higher levels of body image dissatisfaction than women [ 21 ]. It is therefore important to study this pattern in the Omani context and investigate if this shift in body image perception is a new persistent trend.…”

Gender Differences in Body Image Perception Among College Sports Students

“…Generally, men are more satisfied with their bodies than women, despite their physically larger size 15 . The opposite result was found in a study of university students in the United Arab Emirates, where men have higher levels of body image dissatisfaction 7 .…”

“…Individuals' negative perceptions have developed into a source of concern, particularly when experienced by children or teenagers 6 . Body image dissatisfaction (BID) refers to a person's negative perceptions of his or her own body 7 . Individuals with a negative body image will have a distorted perception of their physical appearance, causing them to feel ashamed of their own bodies 8 .…”

Factors Associated With Body Image Satisfaction Among Palestinian University Female Students, Cross-Sectional Study

“…This was also seen in Saudi women, where those with higher BMI had a signi cantly higher level of body image dissatisfaction (Albawardi et al, 2021;Aljadani, 2019). Likewise, Emirati studies reported that higher BMI was signi cantly related to higher body dissatisfaction for both women and men (Alharballeh & Dodeen, 2021;Radwan et al, 2019). Moreover, body satisfaction was signi cantly negatively correlated with BMI (r = .034, P-value < .001).…”