Boothroyd Lynda G, Jucker Jean-Luc, Thornborrow Tracey, Jamieson Mark A, Burt D Michael, Barton Robert A, Evans Elizabeth H, Tovee Martin J
Department of Psychology, Durham University, UK.
University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast, Bluefields, Nicaragüense.
Br J Psychol. 2016 Nov;107(4):752-767. doi: 10.1111/bjop.12184. Epub 2016 Feb 22.
Internalization of a thin ideal has been posited as a key risk factor in the development of pathological eating attitudes. Cross-culturally, studies have found a preference for heavier bodies in populations with reduced access to visual media compared to Western populations. As yet, however, there has been little attempt to control for confounding variables in order to isolate the effects of media exposure from other cultural and ecological factors. Here, we examined preferences for female body size in relation to television consumption in Nicaraguan men and women, while controlling for the potential confounding effects of other aspects of Westernization and hunger. We included an urban sample, a sample from a village with established television access, and a sample from a nearby village with very limited television access. The highest BMI preferences were found in the village with least media access, while the lowest BMI preferences were found in the urban sample. Data from the rural sample with established television access were intermediate between the two. Amongst rural women in particular, greater television consumption was a stronger predictor of body weight preferences than acculturation, education, hunger, or income. We also found some evidence for television consumption increasing the likelihood of women seeking to lose weight, possibly via body shape preferences. Overall, these results strongly implicate television access in establishing risk factors for body image disturbances in populations newly gaining access to Western media.
内化纤瘦理想体型被认为是病理性饮食态度形成的关键风险因素。在跨文化研究中，与西方人群相比，接触视觉媒体机会较少的人群表现出对更丰满体型的偏好。然而，迄今为止，几乎没有人尝试控制混杂变量，以将媒体曝光的影响与其他文化和生态因素隔离开来。在此，我们研究了尼加拉瓜男性和女性对女性体型的偏好与电视消费之间的关系，同时控制了西化和饥饿等其他方面的潜在混杂影响。我们纳入了一个城市样本、一个来自有电视信号村庄的样本，以及一个来自附近电视信号非常有限村庄的样本。对体型指数（BMI）偏好最高的是电视信号最少的村庄，而偏好最低的是城市样本。有电视信号的农村样本的数据则介于两者之间。特别是在农村女性中，与文化适应、教育、饥饿或收入相比，更多的电视消费是体重偏好更强的预测因素。我们还发现了一些证据，表明电视消费可能通过体型偏好增加女性寻求减肥的可能性。总体而言，这些结果有力地表明，在新接触西方媒体的人群中，电视信号接入是形成身体形象障碍风险因素的一个原因。
