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Body image perception and its association with body mass index and nutrient intakes among female college students aged 18–35 years from Tabriz, Iran

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Abstract

Purpose

Recent studies have shown that body image perception is an important factor in weight management and can be influenced by several social or cultural factors in Western or non-Western societies; however, body image perception and its nutritional and demographic determinants in Iran have not been extensively studied. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate body image perception and its socio-demographic and nutritional determinants among female university students in Tabriz City of Iran.

Methods

In the current cross-sectional survey, 184 female students aged 18–35 years from Tabriz, Iran, were enrolled. Anthropometric variables including weight, height, waist and hip circumference were measured and body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio (WHR) were calculated. Body image perception and distortion were assessed by Figure Rating Scale (FRS) developed by Stunkard consisting of nine silhouettes. Nutrition intake was assessed by a 3-day 24-h dietary recall method and analyzed by Nutritionist IV software.

Results

Most of the participants in the underweight (41.66 %), normal weight (67.71 %) and overweight (57.14 %) categories of BMI selected the thinnest figure as their desirable or ideal body image perception. The total prevalences of body image dissatisfaction and distortion were 51.63 % and 64.13 %, respectively. Subjects who had undistorted body image perception consumed more time for physical activity and had more night sleeping hours compared with others (P < 0.05). Subjects who perceived themselves as being of normal weight had significantly lower intake of total fat and saturated fatty acids and higher intakes of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) compared with other groups (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

According to our findings, female participants had a higher tendency to consider thinness as the preferred body image style. Persons with undistorted body image perception had healthy nutritional status compared with others. Due to high prevalence of body image dissatisfaction, the need for appropriate interventional programs to prevent the associated co-morbidities is emphasized.

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Acknowledgments

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Nutrition, Faculty of Nutrition, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Beitullah Alipour & Mahdieh Abbasalizad Farhangi

  2. Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Nutrition, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Parvin Dehghan

  3. Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Mahdieh Alipour

Authors
  1. Beitullah Alipour
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  2. Mahdieh Abbasalizad Farhangi
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  3. Parvin Dehghan
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  4. Mahdieh Alipour
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Correspondence to Mahdieh Abbasalizad Farhangi.

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Alipour, B., Abbasalizad Farhangi, M., Dehghan, P. et al. Body image perception and its association with body mass index and nutrient intakes among female college students aged 18–35 years from Tabriz, Iran. Eat Weight Disord 20, 465–471 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-015-0184-1

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