Silhouette Showcards Confirm Altered Obesityassociated Body Image Perception

• Published in: Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) Md.), 2022-11, Vol.30, p.114-114
• Main Authors: Choo-Kang, Candice, Reese, Tyler, Bovet, Pascal, Bedu-Addo, Kweku, rester, Terrence, Gilbert, Jack, Lambert, Estelle, Layden, Brian, Rae, Dale, Viswanathan, Bharathi, Luke, Amy, Dugas, Lara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Body image; Diabetes; Obesity; Overweight; Self image; Women
• ISSN: 1930-7381; 1930-739X

Background: Given the increasing prevalence of obesity and need for effective interventions, there is a growing interest in understanding how an individuals body image can inform obesity prevention and management. This studys objective was to examine the use of silhouette showcards to measure body size perception compared to measured BMI, and assess body size dissatisfaction, in three different African-origin populations spanning the epidemiologic transition. An ancillary objective was to investigate associations between body size perception and dissatisfaction with diabetes and hypertension. Methods: 751 African-origin participants from USA and Seychelles (both high income countries), and Ghana (low-middle income country). Self-reported feel and ideal rankings of body size using Pulvers silhouette showcards were used to calculate the participants perceived actual weight discrepancy (PAD) and their feel-ideal discrepancy (FID) scores. These measures of body size discrepancy and body size dissatisfaction were stratified by BMI class within country and sex. Results: Most women and men from the US and Seychelles had PAD scores less than 0, meaning they underestimated their actual body size. Similarly, most overweight or obese men and women also underestimated their body size, while normal weight men and women were accurately able to estimate their body size. Irrespective of adiposity, most women desired a smaller body size (94.4%/74.3%/68.4%, US/Seychelles/Ghana), which was similar among men from the US and Seychelles (72.7%/64.0%). Finally, participants with diabetes were able to accurately estimate their body size, and similarly desired a smaller body size. Conclusions: This study highlights that overweight and obese women and men with from countries spanning the epidemiological transition were unable to accurately perceive their actual body size, and that the majority of women, irrespective of where they live, are dissatisfied with their body size. We further show that obese men and women are more likely to have body image perception that diverges from their actual body size, which is also associated with a higher dissatisfaction.