Center for Psychology at University of Porto (CPUP), Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, R. Alfredo Allen, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; Collective Health Institute, Federal University of Bahia, R. Basílio da Gama, s/n, Canela, 40110-040 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rua Waldemar Falcão, 121, Candeal, 40296-710 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Prev Med. 2022 Nov;164:107316. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107316. Epub 2022 Oct 20.
Solid evidence indicates that body image distortion is associated with various physical and mental health problems in women (e.g. Lee and Lee, 2016; Mölbert et al., 2017; Raj and Ploriya, 2020; Sagar, 2005; Shin et al., 2015). Furthermore, body image has been shown to vary according to life context and stage, particularly after a woman has had children. This scenario justifies the comparison between different countries and cultures. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and associated factors of body image distortion/accuracy in Brazilian and Portuguese women with children. The study assessed women selected from two epidemiological cohorts: ELSA-Brasil in Brazil (n = 1468) and Generation XXI in Portugal (n = 3380). The data analyzed were based on multidimensional questionnaires from which sociodemographic and family characteristics as well as data associated with lifestyle and health were obtained. The results show that most women in both cohorts had an accurate perception of their own body size. In cases of distorted self-perception, the likelihood of the Brazilian women perceiving themselves as being heavier was greater if they had had cancer, whereas the Portuguese women were less likely to perceive themselves as heavier when they had less schooling. Perceiving themselves as thinner than they actually are, was associated with poorer self-perception of their own state of health in the Brazilian women and with poorer schooling in both the Brazilian and Portuguese women. The present findings contribute towards improving understanding of the influence of body image distortion on the health and wellbeing of Brazilian and Portuguese women, possibly leading to the implementation of health-promoting policies in both countries.
大量证据表明，身体意象扭曲与女性的各种身心健康问题有关（例如，Lee 和 Lee，2016；Mölbert 等人，2017；Raj 和 Ploriya，2020；Sagar，2005；Shin 等人，2015）。此外，身体意象会根据生活环境和阶段的不同而有所变化，尤其是女性有了孩子之后。这种情况证明了对不同国家和文化进行比较的合理性。本研究的目的是评估巴西和葡萄牙有子女的女性身体意象扭曲/准确的流行程度及其相关因素。该研究评估了从两个流行病学队列中选择的女性：巴西的 ELSA-Brasil（n=1468）和葡萄牙的 XXI 世代（n=3380）。分析的数据基于多维问卷，从中获得了社会人口学和家庭特征以及与生活方式和健康相关的数据。结果表明，两个队列中的大多数女性对自己的体型都有准确的认识。在自我认知扭曲的情况下，如果巴西女性患有癌症，她们更有可能认为自己体重更重，而葡萄牙女性受教育程度较低时，她们不太可能认为自己体重更重。如果她们认为自己比实际更瘦，巴西女性对自己健康状况的自我认知就会更差，而巴西和葡萄牙女性的受教育程度也会更差。本研究结果有助于增进对巴西和葡萄牙女性身体意象扭曲对其健康和幸福影响的理解，从而可能导致两国实施促进健康的政策。
