The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: Results of the international body project I

Viren Swami; David A. Frederick; Toivo Aavik; Lidia Alcalay; Jüri Allik; Donna Anderson; Sonny Andrianto; Arvind Arora; Åke Brännström; John Cunningham; Dariusz Danel; Krystyna Doroszewicz; Gordon B. Forbes; Adrian Furnham; Corina U. Greven; Jamin Halberstadt; Shuang Hao; Tanja Haubner; Choon Sup Hwang; Mary Inman; Jas Laile Jaafar; Jacob Johansson; Jaehee Jung; Aşkin Keser; Uta Kretzschmar; Lance Lachenicht; Norman P. Li; Kenneth Locke; Jan Erik Lönnqvist; Christy Lopez; Lynn Loutzenhiser; Natalya C. Maisel; Marita P. McCabe; Donald R. McCreary; William F. McKibbin; Alex Mussap; Félix Neto; Carly Nowell; Liane Peña Alampay; Subash K. Pillai; Alessandra Pokrajac-Bulian; René T. Proyer; Katinka Quintelier; Lina A. Ricciardelli; Malgorzata Rozmus-Wrzesinska; Willibald Ruch; Timothy Russo; Astrid Schütz; Todd K. Shackelford; Sheeba Shashidharan; Franco Simonetti; Dhachayani Sinniah; Mira Swami; Griet Vandermassen; Marijke van Duynslaeger; Markku Verkasalo; Martin Voracek; Curtis K. Yee; Echo Xian Zhang; Xiaoying Zhang; Ivanka Zivcic-Becirevic

doi:10.1177/0146167209359702

The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: Results of the international body project I

Viren Swami^*, David A. Frederick, Toivo Aavik, Lidia Alcalay, Jüri Allik, Donna Anderson, Sonny Andrianto, Arvind Arora, Åke Brännström, John Cunningham, Dariusz Danel, Krystyna Doroszewicz, Gordon B. Forbes, Adrian Furnham, Corina U. Greven, Jamin Halberstadt, Shuang Hao, Tanja Haubner, Choon Sup Hwang, Mary InmanJas Laile Jaafar, Jacob Johansson, Jaehee Jung, Aşkin Keser, Uta Kretzschmar, Lance Lachenicht, Norman P. Li, Kenneth Locke, Jan Erik Lönnqvist, Christy Lopez, Lynn Loutzenhiser, Natalya C. Maisel, Marita P. McCabe, Donald R. McCreary, William F. McKibbin, Alex Mussap, Félix Neto, Carly Nowell, Liane Peña Alampay, Subash K. Pillai, Alessandra Pokrajac-Bulian, René T. Proyer, Katinka Quintelier, Lina A. Ricciardelli, Malgorzata Rozmus-Wrzesinska, Willibald Ruch, Timothy Russo, Astrid Schütz, Todd K. Shackelford, Sheeba Shashidharan, Franco Simonetti, Dhachayani Sinniah, Mira Swami, Griet Vandermassen, Marijke van Duynslaeger, Markku Verkasalo, Martin Voracek, Curtis K. Yee, Echo Xian Zhang, Xiaoying Zhang, Ivanka Zivcic-Becirevic

^*Corresponding author for this work

Management and Organisation

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	309-325
Number of pages	17
Journal	Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Volume	36
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167209359702
Publication status	Published - 1 Mar 2010

Keywords

Attractiveness
Body dissatisfaction
Body weight
Cross-cultural
International Body Project
Socioeconomic differences

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Swami, V., Frederick, D. A., Aavik, T., Alcalay, L., Allik, J., Anderson, D., Andrianto, S., Arora, A., Brännström, Å., Cunningham, J., Danel, D., Doroszewicz, K., Forbes, G. B., Furnham, A., Greven, C. U., Halberstadt, J., Hao, S., Haubner, T., Hwang, C. S., ... Zivcic-Becirevic, I. (2010). The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: Results of the international body project I. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(3), 309-325. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167209359702

Swami, Viren ; Frederick, David A. ; Aavik, Toivo ; Alcalay, Lidia ; Allik, Jüri ; Anderson, Donna ; Andrianto, Sonny ; Arora, Arvind ; Brännström, Åke ; Cunningham, John ; Danel, Dariusz ; Doroszewicz, Krystyna ; Forbes, Gordon B. ; Furnham, Adrian ; Greven, Corina U. ; Halberstadt, Jamin ; Hao, Shuang ; Haubner, Tanja ; Hwang, Choon Sup ; Inman, Mary ; Jaafar, Jas Laile ; Johansson, Jacob ; Jung, Jaehee ; Keser, Aşkin ; Kretzschmar, Uta ; Lachenicht, Lance ; Li, Norman P. ; Locke, Kenneth ; Lönnqvist, Jan Erik ; Lopez, Christy ; Loutzenhiser, Lynn ; Maisel, Natalya C. ; McCabe, Marita P. ; McCreary, Donald R. ; McKibbin, William F. ; Mussap, Alex ; Neto, Félix ; Nowell, Carly ; Alampay, Liane Peña ; Pillai, Subash K. ; Pokrajac-Bulian, Alessandra ; Proyer, René T. ; Quintelier, Katinka ; Ricciardelli, Lina A. ; Rozmus-Wrzesinska, Malgorzata ; Ruch, Willibald ; Russo, Timothy ; Schütz, Astrid ; Shackelford, Todd K. ; Shashidharan, Sheeba ; Simonetti, Franco ; Sinniah, Dhachayani ; Swami, Mira ; Vandermassen, Griet ; van Duynslaeger, Marijke ; Verkasalo, Markku ; Voracek, Martin ; Yee, Curtis K. ; Zhang, Echo Xian ; Zhang, Xiaoying ; Zivcic-Becirevic, Ivanka. / The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions : Results of the international body project I. In: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 2010 ; Vol. 36, No. 3. pp. 309-325.

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title = "The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: Results of the international body project I",

abstract = "This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.",

keywords = "Attractiveness, Body dissatisfaction, Body weight, Cross-cultural, International Body Project, Socioeconomic differences",

author = "Viren Swami and Frederick, {David A.} and Toivo Aavik and Lidia Alcalay and J{\"u}ri Allik and Donna Anderson and Sonny Andrianto and Arvind Arora and {\AA}ke Br{\"a}nnstr{\"o}m and John Cunningham and Dariusz Danel and Krystyna Doroszewicz and Forbes, {Gordon B.} and Adrian Furnham and Greven, {Corina U.} and Jamin Halberstadt and Shuang Hao and Tanja Haubner and Hwang, {Choon Sup} and Mary Inman and Jaafar, {Jas Laile} and Jacob Johansson and Jaehee Jung and A{\c s}kin Keser and Uta Kretzschmar and Lance Lachenicht and Li, {Norman P.} and Kenneth Locke and L{\"o}nnqvist, {Jan Erik} and Christy Lopez and Lynn Loutzenhiser and Maisel, {Natalya C.} and McCabe, {Marita P.} and McCreary, {Donald R.} and McKibbin, {William F.} and Alex Mussap and F{\'e}lix Neto and Carly Nowell and Alampay, {Liane Pe{\~n}a} and Pillai, {Subash K.} and Alessandra Pokrajac-Bulian and Proyer, {Ren{\'e} T.} and Katinka Quintelier and Ricciardelli, {Lina A.} and Malgorzata Rozmus-Wrzesinska and Willibald Ruch and Timothy Russo and Astrid Sch{\"u}tz and Shackelford, {Todd K.} and Sheeba Shashidharan and Franco Simonetti and Dhachayani Sinniah and Mira Swami and Griet Vandermassen and {van Duynslaeger}, Marijke and Markku Verkasalo and Martin Voracek and Yee, {Curtis K.} and Zhang, {Echo Xian} and Xiaoying Zhang and Ivanka Zivcic-Becirevic",

year = "2010",

month = mar,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1177/0146167209359702",

language = "English",

volume = "36",

pages = "309--325",

journal = "Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin",

issn = "0146-1672",

publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",

number = "3",

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Swami, V, Frederick, DA, Aavik, T, Alcalay, L, Allik, J, Anderson, D, Andrianto, S, Arora, A, Brännström, Å, Cunningham, J, Danel, D, Doroszewicz, K, Forbes, GB, Furnham, A, Greven, CU, Halberstadt, J, Hao, S, Haubner, T, Hwang, CS, Inman, M, Jaafar, JL, Johansson, J, Jung, J, Keser, A, Kretzschmar, U, Lachenicht, L, Li, NP, Locke, K, Lönnqvist, JE, Lopez, C, Loutzenhiser, L, Maisel, NC, McCabe, MP, McCreary, DR, McKibbin, WF, Mussap, A, Neto, F, Nowell, C, Alampay, LP, Pillai, SK, Pokrajac-Bulian, A, Proyer, RT, Quintelier, K, Ricciardelli, LA, Rozmus-Wrzesinska, M, Ruch, W, Russo, T, Schütz, A, Shackelford, TK, Shashidharan, S, Simonetti, F, Sinniah, D, Swami, M, Vandermassen, G, van Duynslaeger, M, Verkasalo, M, Voracek, M, Yee, CK, Zhang, EX, Zhang, X & Zivcic-Becirevic, I 2010, 'The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: Results of the international body project I', Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 309-325. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167209359702

The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions : Results of the international body project I. / Swami, Viren; Frederick, David A.; Aavik, Toivo; Alcalay, Lidia; Allik, Jüri; Anderson, Donna; Andrianto, Sonny; Arora, Arvind; Brännström, Åke; Cunningham, John; Danel, Dariusz; Doroszewicz, Krystyna; Forbes, Gordon B.; Furnham, Adrian; Greven, Corina U.; Halberstadt, Jamin; Hao, Shuang; Haubner, Tanja; Hwang, Choon Sup; Inman, Mary; Jaafar, Jas Laile; Johansson, Jacob; Jung, Jaehee; Keser, Aşkin; Kretzschmar, Uta; Lachenicht, Lance; Li, Norman P.; Locke, Kenneth; Lönnqvist, Jan Erik; Lopez, Christy; Loutzenhiser, Lynn; Maisel, Natalya C.; McCabe, Marita P.; McCreary, Donald R.; McKibbin, William F.; Mussap, Alex; Neto, Félix; Nowell, Carly; Alampay, Liane Peña; Pillai, Subash K.; Pokrajac-Bulian, Alessandra; Proyer, René T.; Quintelier, Katinka; Ricciardelli, Lina A.; Rozmus-Wrzesinska, Malgorzata; Ruch, Willibald; Russo, Timothy; Schütz, Astrid; Shackelford, Todd K.; Shashidharan, Sheeba; Simonetti, Franco; Sinniah, Dhachayani; Swami, Mira; Vandermassen, Griet; van Duynslaeger, Marijke; Verkasalo, Markku; Voracek, Martin; Yee, Curtis K.; Zhang, Echo Xian; Zhang, Xiaoying; Zivcic-Becirevic, Ivanka.

In: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 36, No. 3, 01.03.2010, p. 309-325.

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions

T2 - Results of the international body project I

AU - Swami, Viren

AU - Frederick, David A.

AU - Aavik, Toivo

AU - Alcalay, Lidia

AU - Allik, Jüri

AU - Anderson, Donna

AU - Andrianto, Sonny

AU - Arora, Arvind

AU - Brännström, Åke

AU - Cunningham, John

AU - Danel, Dariusz

AU - Doroszewicz, Krystyna

AU - Forbes, Gordon B.

AU - Furnham, Adrian

AU - Greven, Corina U.

AU - Halberstadt, Jamin

AU - Hao, Shuang

AU - Haubner, Tanja

AU - Hwang, Choon Sup

AU - Inman, Mary

AU - Jaafar, Jas Laile

AU - Johansson, Jacob

AU - Jung, Jaehee

AU - Keser, Aşkin

AU - Kretzschmar, Uta

AU - Lachenicht, Lance

AU - Li, Norman P.

AU - Locke, Kenneth

AU - Lönnqvist, Jan Erik

AU - Lopez, Christy

AU - Loutzenhiser, Lynn

AU - Maisel, Natalya C.

AU - McCabe, Marita P.

AU - McCreary, Donald R.

AU - McKibbin, William F.

AU - Mussap, Alex

AU - Neto, Félix

AU - Nowell, Carly

AU - Alampay, Liane Peña

AU - Pillai, Subash K.

AU - Pokrajac-Bulian, Alessandra

AU - Proyer, René T.

AU - Quintelier, Katinka

AU - Ricciardelli, Lina A.

AU - Rozmus-Wrzesinska, Malgorzata

AU - Ruch, Willibald

AU - Russo, Timothy

AU - Schütz, Astrid

AU - Shackelford, Todd K.

AU - Shashidharan, Sheeba

AU - Simonetti, Franco

AU - Sinniah, Dhachayani

AU - Swami, Mira

AU - Vandermassen, Griet

AU - van Duynslaeger, Marijke

AU - Verkasalo, Markku

AU - Voracek, Martin

AU - Yee, Curtis K.

AU - Zhang, Echo Xian

AU - Zhang, Xiaoying

AU - Zivcic-Becirevic, Ivanka

PY - 2010/3/1

Y1 - 2010/3/1

N2 - This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.

AB - This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.

KW - Attractiveness

KW - Body dissatisfaction

KW - Body weight

KW - Cross-cultural

KW - International Body Project

KW - Socioeconomic differences

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