Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The nutrition transition in developing countries is associated with increased rates of childhood obesity. Body image dissatisfaction (BID) in children and parents is positively associated with children's weight in cross-sectional studies; however, little is known about its prospective relations with weight trajectories in children. This work was conducted as part of the Bogotá School Children Cohort, a nutrition and health investigation of primary schoolchildren in Bogotá, Colombia. We aimed to identify anthropometric and sociodemographic correlates of children's BID, and to investigate whether BID in children or mothers predicts adiposity development in school-age children. BID was positively associated with child's weight at baseline, and was higher in girls than boys regardless of weight. BID was also associated with child’s height, maternal BMI and dissatisfaction with child’s body, and home ownership. On average, children desired to be thinner; whereas mothers desired a larger child. Maternal image perceptions contributed more to girls' BID compared to boys. Child's BID was associated with children's weight trajectories, and depended on child's sex and baseline weight. BID was related to a faster weight gain in overweight boys and to a slower weight gain in thin girls. Overweight girls who desired to be larger gained less weight than those without BID; whereas, paradoxically, thin boys who desired to be thinner gained more weight than those without BID. Maternal image dissatisfaction with her child’s body or with her own body were associated with children's BMI trajectories according to child's sex and baseline weight. A maternal desire for a thinner child was associated with a greater BMI gain among heavy boys, and with a lower BMI gain in normal-weight boys and thin girls. Maternal dissatisfaction with her own body image was associated with lower BMI gain in heavy boys; whereas a desire for a thinner self was related to higher BMI gain in girls. This work extends the current literature by suggesting that BID in child or mother may deleteriously impact weight trajectories in school-age children undergoing the nutrition transition. Characterization of BID, a potentially modifiable factor, may contribute to design and implementation of successful clinical and public health interventions.
Author: Ofra Duchin
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Universidad Nacional de Colombia
OpenAlex ID: W2197681481