تأثیر قومیت و موقعیت اجتماعی و اقتصادی بر روی نارضایتی از بدن و رفتار غذایی در کودکان و نوجوانان استرالیا

The present study examined the association between socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity, body dissatisfaction, and eating behaviours of 10- to 18-year-old children and adolescents. The study participants (N=768) were categorised as Caucasian (74.7%), Chinese or Vietnamese (18.2%), and Italian or Greek (7.0%), and high (82%), middle (8.6%), and low SES (9.4%) according to parents' occupations. The χ2, Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis test and logistic regression model were used to determine the interaction between variables. Females and older participants were more likely to desire a body figure that was thinner than their perceived current figure. Furthermore, the same groups were also more likely to be preoccupied with eating problems (females 7.1% vs. males 1.4%; for participants aged 15–18 years, 7.8% vs. participants aged 10–14 years, 3.9%). The body dissatisfaction gender difference was females 42.8% vs. males 11.8%, and participants aged 15–18 years 41.7% vs. those aged 10–14 years, 28.3%. Participants whose parents were managers/professionals were more likely to desire a body figure that was thinner than their perceived current figure than those from white-collar and blue-collar families. This was also the case for Caucasian Australians compared to those from Chinese or Vietnamese backgrounds. In conclusion, age and gender differences in body image and problems in eating behaviour were evident among children and adolescents. However, there was no significant SES and ethnic difference in the proportion of participants with eating problems and body dissatisfaction.

With the rapid increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents in recent decades in most industrialised countries Chinn & Rona, 2001 and Flegal et al., 2001, the related health risk factors, such as the overconsumption of food and a sedentary lifestyle, have received considerable attention. Paradoxically, recognition of the merits of regular physical activity and the desirability of leanness as opposed to fatness has resulted in an increased concern for body shape in both genders and in individuals of all ages, but especially in youth (Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2001). The health-related behaviours displayed by young males and females appear to reflect a heightened concern with body image and the increasing cultural pressure on both sexes to fit an ‘ideal’ body shape. Furthermore, a preoccupation with physical attractiveness may lead to unhealthy weight-loss behaviours and eating problems Abraham, 2003, Killen et al., 1994, Thompson et al., 1995, Smolak et al., 1993, Stormer & Thompson, 1996 and Wertheim et al., 1992.