Does comparison of self with others influence body image among adult women? An experimental study in naturalistic settings

Background and Objectives It has been suggested that body comparison is a safety behavior in eating disorders. This experimental study investigates the causal impact of upward and downward body comparison on body image, eating pathology, self-esteem, anxiety and mood. It also considers whether trait body comparison and eating pathology are associated with responsiveness to upward and downward comparison. Methods Thirty-nine women participated. Each completed trait comparison and eating pathology measures. Following this, each participant spent an hour (on different days) making an upward, downward or neutral comparison in a naturalistic setting. After each condition, the participant completed measures of body satisfaction, self-esteem, anxiety, depression and eating pathology. Results Participants were significantly less satisfied with their bodies following upward comparison. Both upward and downward comparison were associated with particularly negative effects if an individual had greater trait eating concerns. The effects of downward comparison were correlated with increased anxiety. Limitations The sample was lacking in diversity. Compliance with the experimental tasks was not strictly monitored. Conclusions Upward comparison resulted in lower body satisfaction, but downward comparison did not result in positive effects. However, trait eating concerns and comparison influenced the impact of both forms of comparison. Body comparison should be a target for treatment in CBT for eating disorders, particularly where the individual has a strong tendency to make comparisons with other people. Level of evidence Level III: Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies.

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON BODY COMPARISON TENDENCY, BODY-ESTEEM AND SLEEP QUALITY AMONG FEMALE STUDENTS IN A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN SHAH ALAM/ MALAYSIA

Introduction: Based on many studies probing the spectrums of social media, it has become evident that social media has changed a variety of human interactive activities such as communication, shopping, source of influence on perception, and even search for knowledge. The study aims to find the relationship between social media usage with the body comparison tendency, body esteem levels, and sleep quality. Methodology: a cross-sectional study design using quantitative data conducted among female students of a private university with a sample size of 267 and using a self-administered questionnaire for data collection. A convenience sampling was used from different faculties of the university. Results: It was found that excessive use of social media significantly predicted that participants engage in body comparison behaviours P<?0.001. It was also found that social media use influenced body esteem levels significantly. Higher social media use influences sleep quality significantly, as well. Conclusion: The results showed that social media use for more than 3 hours had a significant impact on body comparison tendencies among those female university students. It was also concluded that body esteem levels among those that fell into this category who used social media for more than 3 hours were lower compared to those who used social media for lesser than 3 hours in general. In evaluating the impact of social media on sleep quality, it was found that nearly half is at high risk of suffering from insomnia or sleep-related disorders.

Epinephelus fuscomarginatus (Perciformes: Epinephelidae), a new species of grouper from off the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

A new species of epinephelid fish from northeastern Australia is described based on five specimens 408–564 mm SL collected by deep water demersal dropline fishing. Epinephelus fuscomarginatus sp. nov. is known from the Capricorn Channel, off the southern end of the Swain Reefs, Qld, Australia, in depths of 220–230 m. It is distinguished by a combination of dorsal-fin rays XI, 14, pectoral-fin rays 17, anal-fin rays III, 8, caudal-fin rounded, lateral-line scales 60–67, gill rakers 9–10 + 16–19 = 25–28, body depth 3.0–3.4 in SL, angle of preopercle broadly rounded, bearing 4–9 small non-prominent serrae, midlateral part of lower jaw with 2 rows of teeth, tooth patches on vomer and palatines narrow, in 2–3 and 2–4 rows, respectively, and coloration including broad dark brown margins to the soft dorsal, anal and caudal fins. There are no dark spots on the head, body, or fins at any known size and in subadults there are two faint pale brown bars radiating from the eye to the posterior margin of the opercle, and diffuse irregular brown wavy bars and blotches on the sides of the body. Comparison of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO 1) genetic marker utilised in DNA barcoding produced modest but consistent genetic divergences of 1.10% and 2.70 % between E. fuscomarginatus sp. nov. and its closest sampled congeners, E. magniscuttis and E. epistictus, respectively. Further evidence is presented to indicate that populations of E. epistictus currently recognised from the Indian Ocean east to the Indo-Australian Archipelago may be distinct from those from the Sea of Japan to the East China Sea.

Comparison of five DNA extracting protocols from Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) bagdasarjani Wainsten and Arutunjan (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

Obtaining clean DNA from mites to be used in molecular studies has always been a challenging task. In this study, five protocols (CTAB-based handmade kit, salting out protocol, STE protocol, modified CTAB-based protocol and wizard Genomic DNA purification kit) were evaluated to extract DNA from Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) bagdasarjani. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the DNA concentrations and a comparison between the ratio of absorption of wavelength from 260 to 280 nm in a completely randomized split plot design for five extraction protocols and three levels of 1, 5, 10 mites were performed. PCR protocol was used to examine the amplification of the ITS1 fragment from the specimens. The results showed that wizard kit and CTAB modified protocol were the bests. However, economically, modified CTAB-based protocol is the best choice for extensive experiments, since this protocol allows extracting DNA from an individual mite and provides the highest concentration DNA (143.35±0.85ng) and the best OD (1.80±0.03) for molecular studies.