Relationship Between Body Mass Index and Body Image Disturbances Among South African Mothers and Their Daughters Living in Soweto, Johannesburg

Cohen, Emmanuel; Gradidge, Philippe Jean-Luc; Micklesfield, Lisa K.; Norris, Shane A.

doi:10.1097/fch.0000000000000220

Cited by 10 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…4). We observed a positive relationship between age category and ideal body size, with valorisation of underweight in some adolescent females (63,85) and valorisation of overweight in middle-aged women (27,73,77,78,86,97) . The rural-urban comparison showed that the ideal BMI category was higher in rural than urban areas in South Africa (27,69) , Senegal (93,116) and Cameroon (114) .…”

Section: Data Synthesismentioning

confidence: 66%

“…Using body image scales, one study (51) found that 34•6 % of Kenyan women living in urban Nairobi underestimated their body weight; with 28•8 % of women who underestimated their weight classified as obese, a pattern also observed in Cameroonian urban women (42) . The same was also observed with overweight/obesity in Nigerian students and South African black urban women, as well as in black schoolgirls, Algerian Saharawi refugees, urban (80) Mauritius High Urban/Rural Females Adolescents 13-18 90 Ettarh et al (51) Kenya Medium Urban slums Females Adults 42•0 (no SD) Jafri et al (81) Morocco Medium Urban Females All ≥ 18 425 El Ansari et al (82) Egypt Medium Urban Females Adolescents 18•6 (1•2) Gitau et al (85) South Africa Medium Urban Mixed Adolescents 13 and 17 1302 (♀: 675; ♂: 627) Gitau et al (83) South Africa Medium Urban Females Adolescents 15•0 (no SD) 183 Gitau et al (84) South Tunisian, Moroccan and Malawian women (24,53,79,87,90,96,97,115) . Only 37•1 % of Ghanaian women living in Accra perceived their current body size as overweight or obese, even though 49•9 % were in these weight categories (70) , a pattern also observed by others in the same city (48,78) .…”

Section: Data Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Body size preferences for women and adolescent girls living in Africa: a mixed-methods systematic review

Pradeilles

Holdsworth

Olaitan

et al. 2021

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: To synthesise evidence on body size preferences for females living in Africa and the factors influencing these. Design: Mixed-methods systematic review including searches on Medline, CINHAL, ASSIA, Web of Science and PsycINFO (PROSPERO CRD42015020509). A sequential-explanatory approach was used to integrate quantitative and qualitative findings. Setting: Urban and rural Africa. Participants: Studies of both sexes providing data on body size preferences for adolescent girls and women aged ≥10 years. Results: 73 articles from 21 countries were included: 50 quantitative, 15 qualitative and eight mixed methods. Most studies reported a preference for normal or overweight body sizes. Some studies of adolescent girls/young women indicated a preference for underweight. Factors influencing preferences for large(r) body sizes included: socio-demographic (e.g. education, rural residency), health-related (e.g. current Body Mass Index, pubertal status), psycho-social (e.g. avoiding HIV stigma) and socio-cultural factors (e.g. spouse’s preference, social standing, cultural norms). Factors influencing preferences for slim(mer) body sizes included: socio-demographic (e.g. higher socioeconomic status, urban residency, younger age), health-related (e.g. health knowledge, being nulliparous), psycho-social (e.g. appearance, body size perception as overweight/obese), and socio-cultural factors (e.g. peer pressure, media). Conclusions: A preference for overweight (not obese) body sizes among some African females means that interventions need to account for the array of factors that maintain these preferences. The widespread preference for normal weight is positive in public health terms, but the valorisation of underweight in adolescent girls/young women may lead to an increase in body dissatisfaction. Emphasis needs to be placed on education to prevent all forms of malnutrition.

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Section: Data Synthesismentioning

confidence: 66%

Section: Data Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Body size preferences for women and adolescent girls living in Africa: a mixed-methods systematic review

Pradeilles

Holdsworth

Olaitan

et al. 2021

Public Health Nutr.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The maternal lifestyle, especially eating behaviors, choice of foods, and dietary intake, can expose her offspring to obesity [20]. Moreover, maternal normalization and valorization of obesity, already identified in several African studies [23,37], can make overweight and obesity the body norm at home for children, as observed in a recent South African study [17]. Thus, adolescents living in urban-poor Soweto could be exposed to two distinct body norm models, with the household environment and cultural values potentially promoting stoutness and the adolescent peer network reinforced by media images and messages promoting thinness, as discussed in a recent South African study [23].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships Between Maternal Factors and Weight Loss Attempts Among Urban Male and Female Adolescents Living in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa

Cohen

Richter

Chidumwa

et al. 2020

Journal of Adolescent Health

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South Africa is undergoing rapid urban transition favoring ideals of thinness, which increases eating disorders risk for female adolescents, whereas older women continue to uphold corpulence as a female cultural value. This study aimed to assess the potential conflicting relationship between urban male and female adolescents' weight loss attempts (WLA) and maternal body image norms within households. Methods: The study included a longitudinal sample of motheredaughter and mothereson pairs from the Birth to Twenty Plus Cohort (N ¼ 1,613), using data collected at 13, 17, and 22 years. Sociodemographic characteristics, eating attitudes, WLA, and body mass index were assessed in mothers and their offspring. Relationships between maternal factors and offspring's WLA were assessed using both logistic regression and structural equation modeling. Results: More females had WLA compared with their male counterparts at 13, 17, and 22 years. Multivariable models showed an independent positive association between maternal household socioeconomic status and boys' WLA at 13 years, whereas independent negative associations were found between mothers' body mass index and boys' WLA at 17 and 22 years. Mothers' age and sons' WLA at 22 years showed an independent positive association. No association was found between maternal factors and daughters' WLA. Conclusions: Strong gender-differentiated intergenerational patterns were observed between maternal factors and offspring's WLA from early adolescence to early adulthood. The lack of relationship between IMPLICATIONS AND CONTRIBUTIONPublic health interventions must help adolescents and their families better understand the multiple factors influencing their attitudes and behaviors around eating and body image so as to promote healthy weight status and minimize eating disorder risk. Conflicts of interest:The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Disclaimer: Publication of this article was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The opinions or views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the funder.

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“…In 2014, Zaccagni et al [30] developed a new tool (the FAI index) that assesses the perceived weight status, analyzing the figure chosen as their actual and BMI in a sample of undergraduate students. More recently, Cohen et al [31] proposed an index (body weight self-satisfaction index) similar to the previous one on the basis of another Figure Rating Scale. For the present study, we decided to evaluate in a large sample of young adults the consistency of the body figure perceived as actual with the fat status objectively assessed by bioimpedance analysis (BIA).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body image perception and body composition: assessment of perception inconsistency by a new index

et al. 2020

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Background: A correct perception of the body image, as defined by comparison with actual anthropometric analyses, is crucial to ensure the best possible nutritional status of each individual. Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) represents a leading technique to assess body composition parameters and, in particular, the fat mass. This study examined the self-perception of body image at various levels of adiposity proposing a new index. Methods:We investigated 487 young Italian adults (mean age of males: 21.9 ± 2.4 years; mean age of females: 21.0 ± 2.2 years). Each subject could choose, on the Contour Drawing Rating Scale, the silhouette that he/she considered most resembling his/her perceived body image as well as his/her ideal body image. On each subject, we performed anthropometric measurements and determined the values of Fat mass and %Fat with BIA. A new index, FAI FAT (Feel fat status minus Actual fat status Inconsistency), was developed to evaluate possible fat status perception inconsistencies by BIA.Results: Based on ideal and feel body image comparison, women showed higher dissatisfaction than men and preferred slimmer silhouettes. FAI FAT values indicated that the fat status perception was correct in the majority of the examined individuals and only three subjects showed a serious misperception. Conclusions:Our findings suggest that FAI FAT is an appropriate index for assessing the perceived fat status from the body image when compared with data obtained by BIA. In a population, the use of this index will allow the correct identification of groups at risk for eating disorders.

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Relationship Between Body Mass Index and Body Image Disturbances Among South African Mothers and Their Daughters Living in Soweto, Johannesburg

Cited by 10 publications

References 70 publications

Body size preferences for women and adolescent girls living in Africa: a mixed-methods systematic review

Body size preferences for women and adolescent girls living in Africa: a mixed-methods systematic review

Relationships Between Maternal Factors and Weight Loss Attempts Among Urban Male and Female Adolescents Living in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa

Body image perception and body composition: assessment of perception inconsistency by a new index

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