@Article{info:doi/10.2196/25329,
author="Milton, Alyssa
and Hambleton, Ashlea
and Roberts, Anna
and Davenport, Tracey
and Flego, Anna
and Burns, Jane
and Hickie, Ian",
title="Body Image Distress and Its Associations From an International Sample of Men and Women Across the Adult Life Span: Web-Based Survey Study",
journal="JMIR Form Res",
year="2021",
month="Nov",
day="4",
volume="5",
number="11",
pages="e25329",
keywords="body image; mental health; well-being; web-based survey; sex differences; age",
abstract="Background: Previous research on body image distress mainly relied on samples that were small, generally homogeneous in age or sex, often limited to one geographical region, and were characterized by a lack of comprehensive analysis of multiple psychosocial domains. The research presented in this paper extends the international literature using the results of the web-based Global Health and Wellbeing Survey 2015. The survey included a large sample of both men and women aged ≥16 years from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States. Objective: The main objectives of this study are to examine body image distress across the adult life span (≥16 years) and sex and assess the association between body image distress and various psychosocial risk and protective factors. Methods: Data were extracted from the Global Health and Wellbeing Survey 2015, a web-based international self-report survey with 10,765 respondents, and compared with previous web-based surveys conducted in 2009 and 2012. Results: The body image distress of young Australians (aged 16-25 years) significantly rose by 33{\%} from 2009 to 2015. In 2015, 75.19{\%} (961/1278) of 16- to 25-year-old adults reported body image distress worldwide, and a decline in body image distress was noted with increasing age. More women reported higher levels of body image distress than men (1953/3338, 58.51{\%} vs 853/2175, 39.22{\%}). Sex, age, current dieting status, perception of weight, psychological distress, alcohol and other substance misuse, and well-being significantly explained 24{\%} of the variance in body image distress in a linear regression (F15,4966=105.8; P<.001). Conclusions: This study demonstrates the significant interplay between body image distress and psychosocial factors across age and sex. ",
issn="2561-326X",
doi="10.2196/25329",
url="https://formative.jmir.org/2021/11/e25329",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/25329",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34734831"
}