Journal article
Quality of life impairment associated with body dissatisfaction in a general population sample of women
BMC public health, Vol.13(1), pp.1-11
03/10/2013
PMID: 24088248
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Abstract
Background: In order to elucidate the individual and community health burden of body dissatisfaction (BD), we examined impairment in quality of life associated with BD in a large, general population sample of women.
Methods: Self-report measures of BD, health-related quality of life (SF-12 Physical and Mental Component Summary scales) and subjective quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF Psychological Functioning and Social Relationships subscales) were completed by 5,255 Australian women aged 18 to 42 years.
Results: Most participants (86.9%) reported some level of dissatisfaction with their weight or shape and more than one third (39.4%) reported moderate to marked dissatisfaction. Higher levels of BD were associated with poorer quality of life for all items of both quality of life measures, the degree of impairment being proportional to the degree of BD. Associations were strongest for items tapping mental health and psychosocial functioning, although greater BD was associated with substantially increased risk of impairment in certain aspects of physical health even when controlling for body weight. Post-hoc analysis indicated that the observed associations between BD and quality of life impairment were not accounted for by an association between BD and eating disorder symptoms.
Conclusions: In women, BD is associated with marked impairment in aspects of quality of life relating to mental
health and psycho-social functioning and at least some aspects of physical health, independent of its association
with body weight and eating disorder symptoms. Greater attention may need to be given to BD as a public
health problem. The fact that BD is “normative” should not be taken to infer that it is benign.
Details
- Title
- Quality of life impairment associated with body dissatisfaction in a general population sample of women
- Creators
- Jonathan Mond - Australian National UniversityDeborah Mitchison - Western Sydney UniversityJanet Latner - University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaPhillipa Hay - Western Sydney UniversityCathy Owen - Australian National UniversityBryan Rodgers - Australian National University
- Publication Details
- BMC public health, Vol.13(1), pp.1-11
- Publisher
- BioMed Central
- Number of pages
- 1
- Grant note
- The Health and Well-Being of Female ACT Residents Study was funded by The Canberra Hospital Private Practice Fund, ACT Health and Community Care and ACT Mental Health.
- Identifiers
- 991013398056302368
- Copyright
- © 2013 Mond et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article