As the evidence supporting the role of body dissatisfaction (BD) in chronic disease risk factors and health behaviors increases, documenting the prevalence of BD is an essential first step in determining to what degree BD is a public health problem. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study is to critically evaluate research examining the population prevalence of BD among U.S. adults. Seven studies were located and provided estimates of prevalence of BD among U.S. adults that were extremely varied (11%–72% for women, and 8%–61% for men). While some of the variation may be due to increases in BD over time, the literature is also clouded by a lack of randomly selected samples, lack of consistency in measurement tools, lack of consistency in operational definitions of BD, and lack of standardized cut-off points for BD. Recommendations for improving BD prevalence research to enable public health research are provided.
Body image is a complex multidimensional construct encompassing an individual's body-related self-perceptions and self-attitudes, including thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors (Cash, 2003). To date, the vast majority of research has focused on body dissatisfaction (BD) because it is a primary determinant of eating disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa), which have a lifetime prevalence of 2.5% for women and 0.8% for men within the U.S. (Hudson, Hiripi, Pope, & Kessler, 2007). More recently, BD research has expanded to explore its role as a potential contributor to a range of behavioral risk factors for chronic disease in non-clinical populations (Heinberg, Thompson, & Matzon, 2001). For example, BD has been associated with decreased likelihood of cancer screening self-exams (Ridolfi & Crowther, 2013), decreased success in smoking cessation (King, Matacin, White, & Marcus, 2005), lower physical health related quality of life (Wilson, Latner, & Hayashi, 2013), decreased mental health and sexual functioning (Davison & McCabe, 2005), and increased pro-smoking attitudes and behaviors (Potter, Pederson, Chan, Auburn, & Koval, 2004).
