Body Image Perception
The current study aims to explore the relationship between BMI and body image satisfaction (BIS) among a sample of women aged 16 to 35 years old in a country. Body image is a biased concept of an individual’s physical look that is based on both self-perception and the perception of peers. In addition to perception, body image encompasses behavioral, cognitive, and affective body aspects. The concept of body image involves multiple dimensions like psychological, neurological, and sociocultural elements.
Young women require a healthy diet to sustain their vigorous minds and bodies. At this stage in life, eating healthy may become a challenge. Young women are genetically liable to gain more weight compared to other people, as fat tends to accumulate around their waist. Diet, physical inactivity, and lack of enough sleep may also cause weight gain in young women. University life may interrupt standard patterns of sleep and eating. Besides, hormonal changes can cause conditions like premenstrual syndrome. Unhealthy body image concerns may also develop. Maintaining a healthy weight is essential for young women’s health. It lowers the risk of stroke, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and different types of cancers (Albeeybe et al., 2019). Weight gain amongst young women can also influence their chance of developing various conditions and diseases such as infertility, snoring, asthma, and sleep apnea. Young women should adopt a healthy eating style, rest enough, have regular physical activity, and keep a positive body image.
Body Image Satisfaction (BIS) occurs when an individual can appreciate, respect, and accept their body. Body image satisfaction or a positive body image is essential since it can act as a protective factor that can make an individual more resilient to common eating disorders. When individuals have negative feelings and thoughts about their own body, they are said to have body image dissatisfaction (BID). However, body image dissatisfaction is an internal process and can be impacted by several external factors. Preference for given body weight as well as attitude towards one’s body image can be influenced by physical, cultural, emotional, and interpersonal factors. These factors lead to a proliferation of body image dissatisfaction and cause eating disorders. As depicted in the media, the ideal female body image has become unrealistically thin in recent times. Females who may not measure up to the standard of model images in media may have intense body image dissatisfaction that can damage their physical and psychological wellbeing. Culture may also encourage various body shapes and composition, making young females to be unhappy about their body weight and composition.
Individuals experiencing body image dissatisfaction may become fixated on changing the shape and size of the body, which may trigger unhealthy practices with nutrition and physical exercise. Body Mass Index is often used as an assessment tool in estimating the degree of overweight. Body Mass Index refers to the ratio of one’s weight to his or her height. Some reports over the last decade suggest that bodyweight concerns, body image dissatisfaction, and unhealthy eating habits are becoming prevalent amongst young Arab females (Jaworowska & Bazylak, 2009). Therefore, studying the relationship between actual body mass index and body image dissatisfaction amongst young Saudi women is essential, as it will give insights on intervention approaches to decrease body image dissatisfaction. The current investigation examined how body mass index relates to body image perception amongst young Saudi women.
Discussion
The study established that BMI was negatively correlated with BIS. This finding was expected given that the media portrays the ideal female body image as thin. However, the degree of the negative correlation between BMI and BIS was shown to be small for young Saudi females. A straightforward explanation of why the association was small (r=-0.135), is because even the young females who had healthy weight were not pleased with their body appearance. Overall, those young women reported a high prevalence (80.5%) of BID, and most of them are eager to lose their weight (59.7%), even though the prevalence of overweight and obesity were low (23.0%).
The prevalence of healthy weight was high (61.5%), while the prevalence of satisfaction was low (19.7%). The results show that there is a misconception of the ideal body image and the healthy weight amongst the young Saudi females. Taking into consideration the cultural and societal impact on the satisfaction of body size may help avoid future problematic issues such as eating disorders. According to Albeeybe et al, (2018), culture-specific influences like faith have been shown to have protective impacts against body image dissatisfaction and worrying disorders in Bulgarian women.
Body mass index is an essential destructive factor regarding the increment of negativity about body image. In line with Albeeybe et al, (2018) study, obese and overweight participants showed considerably advanced intensities of body image dissatisfaction, more shape, and weight worries than underweight and normal participants did. Young females with obesity and overweight issues reported disconsolate feelings about the shape and appearance of their bodies (Kabir, Zafar & Waslien, 2013). For diabetic female students in colleges, higher BMI is linked with body image dissatisfaction and poorer psychosocial outcomes (Radwan et al., 2019). As-Sa’edi et al, (2013) show that a study conducted amongst young females who sought obesity treatment in Saudi Arabia established that they showed a high frequency of depressive disorders and were highly concerned about their body image.
Obesity and body image dissatisfaction has been associated with a decline in self-esteem levels. Also, the preference for thinner bodies amongst female graduate school learners in Saudi Arabia was associated with exposure to the western way of life. As per the study by As-Sa’edi et al. (2013), more underweight and overweight ladies tend to express dissatisfaction with their current body weight compared to normal-weight females. Amongst adolescent females, overweight status was linked with eating disorders, unhealthy behavior, emotional problems, suicidal thoughts, and hopelessness.
57.6% of those who were considered to have healthy weight is on the view to lose weight, and 17.3% look forward to adding their weight. The percentage of those with a healthy weight but wish to lose weight is high at 57.6%. This aspect of the need to lose weight even when one has ideal weight may be as a result of body image dissatisfaction. Even though their BMI indicates that their weight is ideal, they may be dissatisfied with some aspects of their body, such as shape, size, and figure. This kind of body image dissatisfaction may have been caused by peer contact influence and media portrayal of the ideal female body image as very thin. The percentage of those at a healthy weight and wish to gain weight is also alarming at 17.3%. However, if the same women go ahead and manage to gain weight, they become overweight or obese, exposing themselves to the risks associated with overweight such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The reason behind yearning to gain more weight is their unhappy mood with their body composition, especially their figure.
14.3% of those who desire to lose weight is underweight, and such percentage is considered to be too high posing a significant problem. This finding shows that even those who are underweight have body image dissatisfaction and that they wish to lose more weight rather than gain weight to attain a healthy weight mark (Jaworowska & Bazylak, 2009). The aspect root cause is considered to be; as a result women’s unhappy mood with their body shape or composition. The reason for the unhappiness may be due to media depiction of ideal image as extremely thin. Even though a young female may be underweight, she may wish to lose more weight to achieve the body shapes and sizes that are considered ideal in the current society or by their peers. For this group, the traditional cultural influence on body shape may have been outdone by the media influences, when it comes to ideal body image and body image dissatisfaction. This aspect indicates body image distortion and may lead to poorer psychological outcomes, unhealthy eating habits, and over exercising to achieve the body image that they consider ideal.
Other essential results show that 2.5% and 8.3% of those who were classified as overweight and obese respectively desire to gain weight despite having a healthy weight. This finding is coherent with the conclusion by Albeeybe et al. (2019), whereby, a notable proportion of young females in college, especially the obese or overweight, tend to underestimate their perceived body weight. The trend indicates the prevalence of body image distortion among young females. Generally, most of the participants in the current study saw their BMI adequately. However, 42.9% of the overweight young women underestimate their BMI. The finding can also imply that a section of the Saudi females has failed to subscribe to the portrayal of the thin body as the ideal body image but are also in danger of becoming overweight. The finding also appears to contradict with results of studies that a higher body mass index leads to a panic of being negatively judged by others (Albeeybe et al., 2019). The outcome is contradictory, due to the pervasiveness of overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabian population. According to Albeeybe et al. (2019), underestimation of bodyweight amongst young Saudi females with overweight or obesity are alarming. Consequently, future studies to address lifestyle and psychological factors that may cause misconceptions about body weight and size should be considered. In addition, the call to educate people about the importance of keeping fit and maintaining a healthy weight is an essential aspect.
Obese and overweight young women who prefer to gain more weight to conform to the community expectations may risk overweight issues such as diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure. Overall, the study underscores the need for advice and sensitive people about the need to appreciate their body image, size, and shape, as well as the benefits of maintaining a healthy weight. Such programs may touch on the negative impacts of unhealthy eating habits, being overweight, or underweight.
Conclusion
This study showed that BMI is negatively correlated with body image satisfaction. Besides, body image dissatisfaction was proven a great challenge that may lead to adverse health problems and psychological issues amongst young Saudi females. The need for a systematic approach towards the problem of body image dissatisfaction is one of an essential element. Self-esteem can help protect people, especially the obese and the overweight, from the harmful effects of high body mass index on the body image. Cultural factors such as faith may also act as protective shields against negative body image and the health and nutritional risks that come with it. The findings of the current study underscore the need for intervention programs amongst young females about the importance of maintaining an ideal weight. Boosting women’s self-esteem and minimize the chance of being negatively impacted by the media should be considered. A possible limitation of this study is that it focused specifically on young Saudi females. Creating all-encompassing research that will compare the association between BMI and BIS amongst different populations and gender is the most suitable one.
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