McArthur Laura H, Holbert Donald, Peña Manuel
Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA.
Adolescence. 2005 Winter;40(160):801-16.
Using survey methodology, this exploratory study examined the attitudinal and perceptual dimensions of body image among 1,272 eighth- and ninth-grade males and females from higher and lower socioeconomic backgrounds in Buenos Aires, Argentina (n = 195), Guatemala City, Guatemala (n = 212), Havana, Cuba (n = 213), Lima, Peru (n = 218), Panama City, Panama (n = 195), and Santiago, Chile (n = 239). The two dimensions of body image were assessed by showing the participants nine male and nine female silhouettes depicting body sizes ranging from extremely thin (#1) to extremely obese (#9). Approximately 50% of the male and female adolescents chose silhouette #3 as best depicting the attractive male body. Silhouette #2 was chosen by 45% of the females as best depicting feminine attractiveness, while 45% of the males chose silhouette #3. When identifying the silhouette that best depicted the healthy male body, 26% of the participants chose silhouette #2, 41% chose #3, and 19% chose #4. Silhouette #2 was selected by 33% of the adolescents as best depicting the healthy female body, 38% chose #3, and 14% chose #4. In all cities, the effect of body mass index (BMI) on body satisfaction was highly significant (p < 0.001). Almost 40% of the middle weight adolescents indicated a preference to be thinner, even though 72% of the males and 84% of the females in this subgroup already perceived themselves as thin. Similarly, 89% of the heavier weight participants indicated a preference to be thinner, even though only 10% of the males and 2% of the females in this subgroup perceived themselves as heavy. In five of the six cities, a significantly higher (p < 0.05) percentage of females than males desired to be thinner, the exception being Havana, where the distribution of desired change in body size was almost identical for males and females. Findings suggest a need for culturally sensitive, age- and gender-specific preventive interventions focusing on the importance of achieving a healthy weight during adolescence to promote body size acceptance among adolescents who are at a healthy weight.
本探索性研究采用调查方法，对来自阿根廷布宜诺斯艾利斯（n = 195）、危地马拉危地马拉城（n = 212）、古巴哈瓦那（n = 213）、秘鲁利马（n = 218）、巴拿马巴拿马城（n = 195）和智利圣地亚哥（n = 239）社会经济背景较高和较低的1272名八年级和九年级男女学生的身体意象的态度和认知维度进行了研究。通过向参与者展示九个男性和九个女性轮廓来评估身体意象的两个维度，这些轮廓描绘了从极瘦（#1）到极胖（#9）的身体尺寸。约50%的男性和女性青少年选择轮廓#3作为最能代表有吸引力的男性身材。45%的女性选择轮廓#2作为最能代表女性魅力的身材，而45%的男性选择轮廓#3。在确定最能代表健康男性身材的轮廓时，26%的参与者选择轮廓#2，41%选择#3，19%选择#4。33%的青少年选择轮廓#2作为最能代表健康女性身材的轮廓，38%选择#3，14%选择#4。在所有城市中，体重指数（BMI）对身体满意度的影响非常显著（p < 0.001）。近40%的中等体重青少年表示希望更瘦，尽管该亚组中72%的男性和84%的女性已经认为自己很瘦。同样，89%体重较重的参与者表示希望更瘦，尽管该亚组中只有10%的男性和2%的女性认为自己体重较重。在六个城市中的五个城市，希望更瘦的女性比例显著高于男性（p < 0.05），哈瓦那除外，在哈瓦那，男性和女性期望的身体尺寸变化分布几乎相同。研究结果表明，需要开展具有文化敏感性、针对特定年龄和性别的预防干预措施，重点关注在青春期达到健康体重的重要性，以促进体重正常的青少年接受自己的身材。
