Women’s Body Image Throughout the Adult Life Span: A Latent Growth Modeling Approach

Abstract

This retrospective study examined developmental trajectories of women’s body image perceptions throughout the adult life span from life course and self-discrepancy theory perspectives. Data were collected from women over 65 years of age, recruited from 15 senior communities and centers in a Midwest U.S. state in 2012. A total of 102 older women completed a survey about their past and current body image perceptions. To examine developmental trajectories of the repeated body image measures, a latent growth modeling analysis was adopted. Distinct and significant trajectories in each body image measure during the entire adult life course were found, confirming that a retrospective account of women’s body image perceptions significantly change with age. The individual differences in the trajectories over time and the relationship between an individual’s initial mean level and the rate of change on each variable were also examined. The findings advanced understanding of the retrospective age effects on women’s body image throughout the adult life span.

The Interaction Effects of Age and Body Size on Body Appreciation and Health-Related Behaviors

“…Consistent with previous studies ( Lee & Lee, 2019 b), the results of this study confirmed that subjective body size is more detrimental to body-related perceptions and behaviors than objective body size. A series of hierarchical regressions revealed significant predictive relationships between subjective body size and all criterion variables, except for BI-active, after controlling objective body size.…”

“…Based on the widely accepted notion that women live longer than men ( Chrisler et al, 2016 ) and that body concerns are of greater importance for women ( Karazsia et al, 2017 ), the current study focused on female samples. However, enhanced longevity is also projected among Korean men ( Kontis et al, 2017 ), and recent studies have reported that body concerns and problems are among the most important issues affecting men ( Lee & Lee, 2019 a). Third, it is also worth noting that the proportion of people categorized as underweight based on their BMI calculation has increased in both men and women in Korea ( Park et al, 2013 ).…”

“…Other studies have reported an inverse relationship between BMI (body mass index) and physical activity ( Bradbury et al, 2017 ). These results are quite interesting because most women experience significant body size increases due to the aging process ( Montemurro & Gillen, 2013 ) and health-related body concerns significantly increase as women age ( Lee & Damhorst, 2019 ). Life course theory, which has been widely embedded into research on body image and physical activity across the life span, also emphasizes the impor- tance of understanding the developmental changes in one’s body perceptions and health-related behaviors as people age ( Elder et al, 2003 ; Liechty & Yarnal, 2010 ).…”

“…Body concerns and health-related behaviors are important issues for women throughout adulthood. Most women are concerned about their weight and body shape and engage in health-related behaviors (i.e., weight and eating control behaviors) throughout their life span ( Lee & Damhorst, 2019 ). Numerous studies have examined how age and body size are associated with women’s body image and health-related behaviors such as physical activity, dieting, and weight management ( Bradbury et al, 2017 ; Clarke et al, 2017 ; Radwan et al, 2019 ).…”

Association between body image dissatisfaction and body anthropometric indices among Chinese children and adolescents at different developmental stages

“…In girls with breast development ≥ Tanner stage II and nonmenarche (stage 2), the CSHR was positively correlated with the BSQ score, but the WHR was negatively associated with the BSQ score, which means that girls with a higher CSHR or a lower WHR were more dissatisfied with their body image. This seems to be inconsistent with the cognitive view of adult women that an "s-shaped" body is beautiful (34). Girls at the stage 2 of pubertal development have started puberty, and their female secondary sexual characteristics have begun to develop.…”