Sexual dysfunction and negative body image.

Author(s):  
Ellen A. Dornelas
Sexual Health ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 200
Author(s):  
Anandi Alperin ◽  
Fiona K. Barlow

Background Negative body image can result in sexual dysfunction for both women and men. Drive for thinness, drive for muscularity and drive for leanness have all been associated with poor body image. However, research to date has not examined which is the strongest predictor of sexual problems in each gender. Methods: The present study used measures of drive for muscularity and drive for thinness simultaneously to predict sexual functioning in both genders. Participants (n = 519) completed measures of drive for thinness, drive for muscularity, sexual esteem, sexual assertiveness, discomfort exposing their bodies during sex and genital satisfaction. The interaction between drive for thinness and drive for muscularity was used to approximate drive for leanness. Results: Drive for thinness, not drive for muscularity (or any combination of the two), predicted men’s and women’s sexual problems. Conclusions: We add to the growing body of literature on the destructive nature of excessive drive for thinness, and highlight that it may be a core factor in promoting and maintaining men’s (as well as women’s) sexual problems.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Lenka H. Shriver ◽  
Jessica M. Dollar ◽  
Susan D. Calkins ◽  
Susan P. Keane ◽  
Lilly Shanahan ◽  
...  

Emotional eating is associated with an increased risk of binge eating, eating in the absence of hunger and obesity risk. While previous studies with children and adolescents suggest that emotion regulation may be a key predictor of this dysregulated eating behavior, little is known about what other factors may be influencing the link between emotional regulation and emotional eating in adolescence. This multi-method longitudinal study (n = 138) utilized linear regression models to examine associations between childhood emotion regulation, adolescent weight status and negative body image, and emotional eating at age 17. Emotion regulation predicted adolescent emotional eating and this link was moderated by weight status (β = 1.19, p < 0.01) and negative body image (β = −0.34, p < 0.01). Higher engagement in emotional eating was predicted by lower emotional regulation scores among normal-weight teens (β = −0.46, p < 0.001) but not among overweight/obese teens (β = 0.32, p > 0.10). Higher scores on emotion regulation were significantly associated with lower emotional eating at high (β = −1.59, p < 0.001) and low (β = −1.00, p < 0.01) levels of negative body image. Engagement in emotional eating was predicted by higher negative body image among overweight/obese teens only (β = 0.70, p < 0.001). Our findings show that while better childhood emotion regulation skills are associated with lower emotional eating, weight status and negative body image influence this link and should be considered as important foci in future interventions that aim to reduce emotional eating in adolescence.


Sexes ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-39
Author(s):  
Sean M. McNabney

With approximately two-thirds of the United States adult population classified as overweight or obese, obesity remains a critical public health concern. Obesity not only contributes to several health complications including type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease, but the condition is also associated with sexual dysfunction in both women and men. Despite evidence linking obesity and its concomitant pathophysiology to sexual problems, the potential roles of psychosocial factors such as body image are understudied. This narrative review evaluates the research linkages between obesity and sexual dysfunction, with particular attention to the potential effects of body image dissatisfaction. A literature search of biomedical and psychological databases was used to identify research pertaining to obesity, sexual function, and/or body image constructs. The pathophysiological effects of obesity on sexual function are well-documented in mechanistic studies and animal trials, often with corroboration in human clinical samples. However, very few studies examine obesity, body image, and sexual function in tandem. Body image dissatisfaction appears to independently impinge upon the sexual response cycle and mental health outcomes, irrespective of body weight. While obesity is often associated with negative body image appraisal, it is unclear whether these constructs exert additive, synergistic, or antagonistic effects on sexual responsivity. Additionally, overweight/obese individuals who exhibit higher levels of body image satisfaction or self-confidence appear to be protected from the deleterious effects of obesity on sexual satisfaction, at least to some extent. Greater reliance upon conceptual/theoretical models from the body image literature may better clarify the relationships between these constructs.


Author(s):  
Jennie Burch ◽  
Brigitte Collins

The final chapter is about other issues in gastrointestinal (GI) care and incorporates other important issues related to GI care that do not easily fall into other categories. This will ensure that as many GI-related topics as possible are covered to provide the nurse with a fuller understanding of GI nursing. This chapter incorporates issues related to scars, such as changes in body image and how this can cause psychological issues. Finally, issues related to sexuality, such as sexual dysfunction and erectile dysfunction, will be explored. Concise explanations of the issues within this chapter can aid the nurse, although it is often difficult for nurses to discuss these topics in a busy clinical environment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Kaczmarek ◽  
Sylwia Trambacz-Oleszak

SummaryThe increasing prevalence of negative body perceptions among adolescent girls and the tendency towards wishing to be thinner have become a cultural norm in Western culture. Adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to developing a negative body image due to physical and sexual changes occurring during puberty. This study aimed to evaluate the association between different measures of body image perceptions and different phases of the menstrual cycle after controlling for weight status and other potential confounders in Polish adolescent girls aged 12–18 years. Three-hundred and thirty participants of a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2009, normally cycling and with no eating disorders, completed a background questionnaire and the Stunkard Figure Rating Scale, and their anthropometric measurements were collected. The dependent outcome variables were measures of body image (actual body image, ideal body image and ideal-self discrepancy) and dichotomous body image perception (satisfied versus dissatisfied) adjusted for other predictor factors: socio-demographic variables, menstrual history and cycle phases, and weight status. One-way ANOVA indicated that weight status, age at menarche and menstrual cycle phase were associated with actual body image and rate of ideal-self discrepancy. Ideal body image was associated with weight status and menstrual cycle phase. General logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate associations of body dissatisfaction and all potential predictor variables. The final selected model of the multiple logistic regression analysis using the backward elimination procedure revealed that adjusted for other factors, negative body image was significantly associated with different phases of the menstrual cycle (ptrend=0.033) and increasing body weight status (ptrend=0.0007). The likelihood of body dissatisfaction was greatest during the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle (OR=2.38; 95% CI 1.06, 5.32) and among girls in obesity class I (OR=8.04; 95% CI 2.37, 27.26). The study confirmed the association between body image dissatisfaction in adolescent girls and different phases of the menstrual cycle after controlling for weight status. The issue of negative body self-image is not only of cognitive, but also of practical value as understanding better the factors contributing to the formation of a negative body image may be instrumental in developing preventive health programmes targeted at young people.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document