Association between the recognition of muscle mass and exercise habits or eating behaviors in female college students

This study aimed to examine the association between muscle mass and perception of body shape, desired body shape, physical strength, exercise habits, and eating behaviors. Height, weight, and body composition in 270 female university students were measured. The questionnaire on body shape perception, desired body shape, dieting experience, current, and past exercise habits, exercise preference, and eating behaviors were administered. The analysis of covariance with body fat mass as the covariate found that the skeletal muscle index (SMI) was different among each group on each of body perception or desired body shape (all, p < 0.001). In the post hoc test on body shape perception, the SMI in “obese” was significantly more than that in “slim” (p < 0.001) and “normal” (p < 0.001). In the desired body shape, the SMI in “become thin” was more than that in “maintain as current shape” (p < 0.001). Further, a significant difference was found among the categories of diet experience, with body fat mass as the covariate. In the post hoc test, the SMI in “yes” was more than that in “no” (p < 0.001). These results indicate that not only body fat mass but skeletal muscle mass drives young females’ desire for thinness even with exercise advantages.

Issue of Waist Circumference for the Diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome Regarding Arterial Stiffness: Possible Utility of a Body Shape Index in Middle-Aged Nonobese Japanese Urban Residents Receiving Health Screening

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Abdominal obesity as a risk factor for diagnosing metabolic syndrome (MetS) is evaluated using waist circumference (WC), although WC does not necessarily reflect visceral adiposity. This cross-sectional study aimed to clarify whether replacing WC with “A Body Shape Index (ABSI),” an abdominal obesity index, in MetS diagnosis detects individuals with arterial stiffening assessed by cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI). <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in 46,872 Japanese urban residents (median age 40 years) who underwent health screening. Exclusion criteria were current treatments and a past history of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The Japanese, International Diabetes Federation, and NCEP-ATPIII criteria were used to diagnose MetS. High CAVI was defined as CAVI ≥9.0. <b><i>Results:</i></b> CAVI correlated positively with ABSI (β = 0.127), but negatively with WC (β = −0.186), independent of age, sex, systolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, and high-density lipoprotein--cholesterol. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that ABSI had a stronger contribution to high CAVI (area under the ROC curve [AUC] = 0.730) than WC (AUC = 0.595) and body mass index (AUC = 0.520). ABSI ≥0.080 was defined as abdominal obesity based on the results of ROC analysis for high CAVI and estimated glomerular filtration rate &#x3c;60 mL/min/1.73 m². Logistic regression analysis revealed that replacing high WC with ABSI ≥0.080 in MetS diagnosis enhanced the detection of subjects with high CAVI. <b><i>Discussion/Conclusion:</i></b> Use of ABSI can detect subjects with arterial stiffening, which may lead to efficient stratification of CVD risk. Further studies are needed to confirm whether MetS diagnosis using ABSI predicts CVD morbidity and mortality.

Factors Influencing Body Image Perception of University Students in Ghana

This study aimed to find out the perception of University of Cape Cost students about their body image and the factors which influenced their body image perception. Cross-sectional descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. A sample of 380 students was used for the study through the proportional stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected by using questionnaire adapted from the instrument of Pop (2016). A Cronbach co-efficient alpha of 0.821 was obtained indicating that the instrument was reliable. Mean and standard deviation were used in analysing the data. The study revealed that the respondents did not see themselves as having the perfect body shape, were not satisfied body shape and size and were not satisfied with their weight. Overall, the respondents had poor body image. The study revealed also that media and peer influences were the main factors which influenced body image perception among the students. The other identified factors were society and cultural background, family members and partners. It was recommended that university authorities should organise outreach programmes for students on how to improve their self-esteem and self-image so that the incidence of poor body image can be reduced.

Weight Location Moderates Weight-Based Self-Devaluation and Perceived Social Devaluation in Women

Overweight and obese (“heavyweight”) people devalue themselves because, it has been proposed, they are socially devalued. However, for women, social valuation depends not only on how much weight they carry but also on where on their bodies they carry it. Here, we investigated whether weight-based self-valuation and perceived social valuation similarly depend on body shape. Study 1, using a nationally representative sample from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; N = 1,093 reproductive-aged women), showed that, controlling for body fat, weight labeling (by self and others) and wanting to lose weight depended on body shape. Study 2, in a direct test of predictions using an undergraduate sample of women ( N = 215), showed that with increased body fat, women with an abdominal weight distribution reported more self-devaluation (e.g., lower self-esteem) and perceived social devaluation (e.g., higher perceived weight discrimination); women with a gluteofemoral weight distribution, however, were shielded—partially or fully—from these adverse effects of increased body fat.

HUBUNGAN KECERDASAN EMOSI DENGAN KETIDAKPUASAN TUBUH WANITA DEWASA AWAL DI ERA PANDEMI COVID-19

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui apakah terdapat hubungan antara kecerdasan emosi dengan ketidakpuasan tubuh pada wanita usia dewasa awal di era pandemi COVID-19. Sebuah penelitian baru menemukan bahwa kecemasan dan stres yang terkait langsung dengan COVID-19 dapat menyebabkan sejumlah masalah citra tubuh, salah satunya adalah ketidakpuasan tubuh dan keinginan untuk kurus pada wanita. Penelitian menyatakan adanya hubungan antara kecerdasan emosi dengan ketidakpuasan tubuh. Namun, penelitian lain menyatakan sebaliknya, tidak terdapat hubungan antara kecerdasan emosi dengan ketidakpuasan tubuh. Pendekatan kuantitatif digunakan dalam penelitian ini dengan alat ukur Emotional Intelligence Scale dan Body Shape Questionnaire-34. Pengambilan data dilakukan secara daring yang melibatkan 125 partisipan. Analisis data menggunakan analisis Product Moment, hasil korelasi data r = 0,078 dan p = 0,386 (p > 0,005). Disimpulkan tidak terdapat hubungan antara kecerdasan emosi dengan ketidapuasan tubuh pada wanita usia dewasa awal di era pandemi COVID-19. Wanita pada usia dewasa awal memiliki keinginan tampil menarik dihadapan orang lain, hal ini bertolak belakang dengan dampak pandemi yang menyebabkan berkurangnya intensitas interaksi antar manusia. Interaksi antar manusia banyak dilakukan secara daring, dimana sudah banyak aplikasi yang menyediakan fitur edit wajah. Hal ini menyebabkan berkurangnya perasaan tidak puas akan tubuhnya, terutama pada wanita usia dewasa awal.

“Can A Ballerina Eat Ice Cream?”: A Mixed-Method Study on Eating Attitudes and Body Image in Female Ballet Dancers

Aim: We aimed to explore how a group of classical ballet dancers perceived their eating attitudes and their bodies, with special attention to the potential presence of eating disorders (EDs) symptoms and body image (dis)satisfaction.Methods: A cross-sectional, mixed-method study was conducted on fourteen trained classical ballet dancers (18–30 years old). Their experiences, perceptions, and feelings regarding eating attitudes and body image concerning classical ballet were acquired through qualitative focus groups. The presence of EDs symptoms and perception and (dis)satisfaction with body image was analyzed quantitatively through self-report questionnaires.Results: Participants reported concerning eating attitudes during the focus groups, such as the regular practice of several restrictive popular diets, constant restriction of foods considered “heavy” or “fatty,” meal skipping and ignoring signs of hunger, presence of overeating episodes due to stress and anxiety, feeling guilty about breaking their usual diet, classifying foods as “good” and “bad” or “lean” and “fat,” and excluding some of those foods from their usual diets. These reports were partially reflected in the questionnaires, with 50% of the ballerinas showing bulimic symptoms indicative of an unusual eating pattern (only two of them with a significant risk index), 7.1% showing symptoms of moderate binge eating, and 14.3% symptoms of EDs in general. Additionally, when considering their bodies in the context of everyday life, participants were satisfied; however, in the “classical ballet” context, they reported feeling dissatisfied with their shape. These findings were in line with results from the Stunkard's Scale, which revealed that 50% of the sample was dissatisfied with their current body shape and 57.1% indicated that their desired body shape was a leaner figure than one they considered healthy.Conclusions: The constant practice of restrictive diets and other weight-loss strategies to achieve a leaner body were associated with symptoms of EDs and body dissatisfaction in this sample. Importantly, the questionnaires used seemed to underestimate the presence of a disordered eating pattern reported by the participants during focus groups. These data could help to inform psychological and nutritional strategies aimed at improving performance, physical and psychological well-being, and quality of life of ballet dancers.

Dealing With the Body Shaming Phenomenon in Cyberspace: Prevention and Challenges in Law Enforcement

Body shaming is one of the verbal crimes that exist in cyberspace. According to the Clarity Clinic, body shaming is the act of humiliating someone based on their body shape by mocking them. Launching the official website of the Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, body shaming is any act or practice of insulting other people's body shape or size, weight, hairstyle, dress and appearance. In this study, two problems will be discussed, namely 1) why body shaming act needs attention in criminal law policies and 2) how criminal law policies deal with body shaming. This research is a normative juridical research that examines legal norms regarding body shaming in Indonesia. Legal materials consist of primary and secondary legal materials collected through literature study. The analysis was carried out qualitatively. Body parts are used as objects to drop a person's image. Body shaming is a form of bullying or bullying. Practices like this can leave severe emotional trauma and disrupt the victim's mental health. The trauma experienced by the victim can even occur in the long term. This form of bullying can be carried out by the closest people such as parents, relatives, friends, strangers, to negative comments on social or conventional media. Body shaming act in cyberspace is a challenge in criminal law policy in Indonesia, both in the context of prevention and in law enforcement policies against perpetrators. Digital literacy is a very important pillar to understand that mocking someone's body shape is a crime.