Obesity, Body Image Dissatisfaction, and Sexual Dysfunction: A Narrative Review

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.

Do self-esteem and gender help explain depressive and/or anxiety symptoms in adolescents?

Depression and anxiety are common in adolescents, and poor mental health in this group leads to harm in adulthood. This study investigates to what extent gender, age, body image dissatisfaction, and self-esteem were related to depressive and anxiety symptoms in adolescents. The sample consisted of 1,209 high school students of both sexes, aged 13-19 years (M = 15.8; SD = 1.23). The instruments were: sociodemographic questionnaire, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Stunkard Figure Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Multinomial logistic regression indicated that being female and having low or moderate self-esteem satisfactorily explained the anxiety symptoms. Reduced self-esteem was the best explanation for depressive symptoms, and finally, reduced rates of self-esteem satisfactorily explained symptoms for both disorders.

Relationship between Body Image Dissatisfaction and Social Media Usage in Young Women

Young women have been found to experience body image dissatisfaction as a consequence of excessive social media usage and vice versa. Therefore, the current study was conducted to examine the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and social media use in young women aged 19-23 years in a Pakistani sample. A sample of 401 young women from different cities of Punjab province completed an online Google Form-based questionnaire containing informed consent, demographic sheet, and two scales namely social networking usage scale and socio-cultural attitude towards appearance questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4). The findings of the study significantly predicted excessive social media usage from body dissatisfaction. The pressure sub scale of body image dissatisfaction was found to be significantly associated with social media usage. There were found no differences in body image dissatisfaction and social media usage in single and married young women. However, urban women were found to have high levels of body image dissatisfaction than rural women. The study concluded that body image dissatisfaction could lead to excessive social media usage in young women. The future directions and limitations of the study were discussed.

The association between sexual function and body image among postmenopausal women: a cross-sectional study

Background Postmenopause physiological changes may alter body image (BI) during the postmenopausal period of life. Body image dissatisfaction may have negative effects on the sexual function of women. The present study aims to assess the relationship between body image and sexual function during the postmenopausal period. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed on 231 postmenopausal women who were menopausal during the recent 5 years, aged > 40 years old, and referring to health centers in Tehran-Iran. The participants were recruited using a multi-stage sampling method. Data were collected using 3 questionnaires including socio-demographic, Fisher’s Body Image, and female sexual function index (FSFI). Data were analyzed using SPSS 24 and multiple regression, Mann–Whitey, Pearson, and Spearman correlation tests. Results Two hundred thirty-one postmenopausal women aged 52.53 ± 5.32 (mean ± SD) years old participated in the study. The mean and standard deviation of FSFI and BI of the women were respectively 19.59 ± 11.11(ranges 1.2–36) and 155.43 ± 37.09 (ranges from 46 to 230). According to FSFI, 62.8% of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) was reported. There were significant correlations between scores of total and all domains of FSFI with scores of total and all dimensions of BI. There was also a positive correlation between education and family income of the women and a negative correlation between age of husband and duration of menopause with their sexual function. Significant relationships were also shown between the women's and the husbands' jobs with the total score of women's sexual function. According to the multiple linear regression model, BI was a significant predictor of sexual function in postmenopausal women. Conclusion Body image is effective on the sexual function of postmenopausal women. Therefore, body image is necessary to be considered in future postmenopausal health promotion programs.

Correlation Between Gender Differences and Anthropometric Indicators with Body Image Dissatisfaction Among Adults in Ardabil City

Background: Body image dissatisfaction has been rising in recent years. Despite the large body of evidence on body image, few studies have directed gender comparisons of body image in Iran. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate body image dissatisfaction and its correlation with anthropometric indicators and body composition in men and women. Methods: Following a cross-sectional design, 95 females and 95 males (age range: 18 - 50 years and body mass index: 18.5 - 40.0 kg/m2) who attended a nutrition clinic in Ardabil city were recruited using a convenience sampling method. Anthropometric measurements were achieved while participants were lightly clothed with no shoes. The body fat percentage, visceral fat level, and visceral fat area were measured using a bioelectrical impedance analysis. The body image was evaluated using the Multidimensional Body Self-Relation Questionnaire (MBSRQ). Data analysis was administered using SPSS, and a two-tailed P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The appearance orientation (females: 4.04 ± 0.57 vs. males: 3.72 ± 0.49, P-value < 0.001) and illness orientation (females: 3.70 ± 0.74 vs. males: 3.41 ± 0.83, P-value = 0. 01) subscales scores were higher in women than men. A negative association was observed between appearance orientation subscale score with anthropometric indicators and body composition. In contrast, the subjective weight, overweight preoccupation, and health evaluation subscales scores were positively correlated with anthropometric measurement and body composition. Conclusions: This study investigated body image dissatisfaction in a small sample of Iranians. Gender was an important factor in determining body image subscales. Thus, health interventions should be specially designed.

Body Image, Anxiety, and Bulimic Behavior during Confinement Due to COVID-19 in Mexico

Background: The potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on weight, shape-related appearance behaviors (body image dissatisfaction), and bulimic symptoms in nonclinical participants is poorly evaluated. This study aimed to identify the relationship between labor status, confinement degree due to COVID-19, dissatisfaction with body image, and anxiety and to discover its effect on bulimic behavior in Mexican adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a non-probabilistic sample of 276 participants via an online survey. Questions addressed their anxiety, body image dissatisfaction, and bulimic behavior. Results: The path analysis showed direct effects on the confinement degree (β = −0.157); of the labor situation (β = −0.147) and gender (β = 0.129) on anxiety; of dissatisfaction on bulimic behavior (β = 0.443) and anxiety about bulimic behavior (β = 0.184); and dissatisfaction (β = 0.085). Conclusions: The confinement, gender, and labor status are predictors of anxiety, while anxiety and body dissatisfaction directly influence bulimic behavior.

Body image dissatisfaction in adolescent girls in puberty

The aim of this study was to analyze body image satisfaction among girls from different pubertal groups using two assessment instruments. The sample consisted of 82 adolescent girls, aged 11 to 14 years, divided into two groups: pre- and post-menarche. The Kakeshita’s Body Image Scale (BIS) and Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) were used to assess body image dissatisfaction. For comparisons of anthropometric variables between pubertal groups, Student's t-test was used for independent samples. Comparisons between BMI classifications, body image satisfaction and desire for body image change were performed using chi-square and binomial tests for both groups. For the comparison between the instruments, the Kappa coefficient (K) was calculated. The results showed that, for BIS, more than 81% of adolescents showed dissatisfaction, being higher among adolescents in post-menarche. For BSQ, the prevalence of body dissatisfaction was lower, but the results did not confirm those previously observed. In both instruments (BIS and BSQ), there were no differences between groups. However, the study indicated a tendency for post-menarche girls to show greater dissatisfaction in relation to pre-menarche adolescents, while the instruments used do not show agreement in the results.

Body Image Dissatisfaction in The Youth of India: And the Effects on Self-Esteem

The aim to conduct this research is to enlighten the impact of body image dissatisfaction on an individual’s self-esteem and to examine whether there is a gender difference in this case or not. There are a total of 220 numbers of participants, with equal number of males and females in the sample set. The tool that’d be using here is a modified short version of the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) by Cooper et. Al. in the year in 1987 and The Rosenberg self-esteem scale by Morris Rosenberg (RSES) in the year 1965. The current research proved that whenever there’ll be higher body image dissatisfaction, it’ll result in less self-esteem. Other than that, it stated that females (M= 22.69 and SD= 3.64) have a higher mean score in body image dissatisfaction than and males (M=23.28 and SD= 3.6), therefore, the men have a higher mean score of self-esteem than females.