Cultural Differences Influence on Female Body Image, Interlinked with Eating Attitude - Coursework Example

An Introduction of Psychology Lab Report: Cultural Differences Influence (European and Chinese) on Female Body Image, Interlinked with Eating Attitude and Self-Esteem Overview on Eating Pathology Anorexia nervosa is a disorder characterised by a refusal to maintain a minimally normal body weight because of the disturbance in perception of the size or appearance of the body. Bulimia, on the other hand, refers to the recurrent and episodic binge eating and purging, accompanied by the awareness that the eating pattern is abnormal but not being able to stop it. Although these two conditions are distinct and different from each other, they both stem from body dissatisfaction and eating disturbances - topics delved deeper into by many researches. It is quite sad to know that such eating disorders can disturb women of today. While other people enjoy their food, such individuals seem to be hostile to the idea of food as the first thing that comes to mind is how it will increase their body weight. Such a perception is truly distorted given that it is quite common knowledge that food consumption is meant to nourish the body in order for it to function properly. Thus, this kind of body dissatisfaction has veered away from the very basic goal of life and has instead overemphasized slimness to the point of sickness. Meanwhile, it has been found that most anorexics and bulimics reside in European countries and in the United States and they are from relatively high socioeconomic status (Benokraitis, 1996). It has also been found out that such eating disorders are more prevalent in developed countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and European countries (Hetherington & Parke, 2003). Consequently, the current preference for ultra slender women has caused a higher prevalence of eating disorders over the past 39 years among women in Europe and North America, as compared to other developing countries, including Japan (Ohzeki et al, 1990).  Such findings can make one wonder why the affluent of society will tend to starve them selves when they have more than enough financial resources and access to all kinds of food. While poor people would do anything to get their hands on any kind of food, the rich women seem to be doing everything not to take a bite just to stay in shape. In doing so however, parts of their body and very self has been sacrificed. On the other hand, this finding reveals that no matter how rich individuals are, it doesn’t guarantee that they will be happy in every aspect of their lives including their bodies. In the meantime, residents from non-Western countries such as Japan, India, Pakistan, China, Taiwan, and Iran have seemed to develop more disorders related to their eating habit as evidenced by various studies (Abdollahi & Mann, 2001; Kam & Lee, 1998; Khandelwa et al, 1995; Lee, 1993; Lee & Lee, 2000; Lee, Lee & Leung, 1998; Mumford et. al, 1992; Nakamura, et. al, 2000). Once again, this finding can make one think about the factors that could have prompted these women to develop such a dissatisfying perception about their bodies. One probable aspect to this query would be that these non-Western women have been influenced by their immediate environment such as the media. Different Eating Attitudes of Hong Kong Women Living in the United Kingdom        Surprisingly, there are groups of people in some areas of the globe who appreciate a little bit of body fat. This is found to be true in developing countries wherein citizens put a high premium on fatness (Sobal & Stunkard, 1989). The fatter one is, the more his physique conveys that he has enough and even excess resources to allot for his food. This is the reason for the low prevalence of eating disorders in non-Western societies. However, this contention has changed over the years and studies now reveal that Hong Kong females who reside in the Western regions value a slimmer body more than anything (Lee & Lee, 1996). Fortunately, only a few engage themselves in strict diet plans. This shift in the perception of women when it comes to fatness that has resulted in an increment in the number of eating disorder cases can reflect among others a low self-esteem or sense of self. Even if the same women have been exposed to the attractiveness of being slim and yet they realize their self-worth, no amount of outside influence can shake them. On the other hand, it is very possible that an experience of rejection based on what they perceive as a fat body could adversely affect the way they see themselves. This goes to show that physical attractiveness has been placed as a top qualification that makes an individual beautiful instead of the more important aspects of personality, attitude, talents, capabilities and values. Furthermore, most Hong Kong women have now gone beyond what is considered a standard weight measure of the West and express their desires to lose more body fat (Lee & Lee, 1996). Their facial features are not even given priority anymore because this has been replaced by the desire to acquire a slim and well-toned physique (Lee & Lee, 2000).        As Hong Kong females who are studying in the United Kingdom for at least 6 years were used as participants in the study, it is also important to take into consideration the concepts of culture clash and acculturation. Cross-cultural researchers have argued that acculturation of Western society and the adoption of a slim ideal female body size are the primary factors that have contributed to higher levels of pathological eating disorders among Asian women. Living outside of U.K. can already influence their body perception through media and being in the place itself could have a stronger influence on these women. Cross-cultural theorists have coined the term “culture crash” to describe the experience of being in two different social worlds, such as in the case of Hong Kong women living and getting educated in the United Kingdom. This theory is based on the assumption that because of the experience of a different kind of culture, the individuals develop the idea that starving themselves is an effective form of self-discipline until a pathological eating habit is developed (Katzman& Lee, 1997; Lake et al, 2000; Mumford, et al, 1991). In these cases, it is quite obvious that the problem lies in the perception of these women more than anything. They seem to have adapted illogical and irrational ways of thinking that the society around them also reinforces. On the other hand, it is also believed that culture clash has a greater impact if women have a more traditional family background. This means that the women who appear to have a stronger attachment to their old ways are more likely to get involved in a culture clash and result in the occurrence of disturbing eating disorders (Katzman& Lee, 1997; Lake et al, 2000; Mumford et al, 1991). This kind of reaction shows that when women are at a loss about what to do exactly, they tend to conform to the new standards instead of sticking to their traditions. However, it is also possible that in the effort to try to belong to the new environment, these women do everything they can to fit in. If it means starving themselves just to belong then they will do the same. Eating Attitude and Disorders in the United Kingdom Unfortunately, in many places such as the United Kingdom, women are not too happy about their bodies and even believe that they are heavier in comparison to a typical male. This could be the very reason why many of these women engage in dietary schemes more than those who live in other countries (Grogan, 1999). In developed countries, there exists an indirect relationship between socioeconomic status and fatness among women (Fox, 1997). Being affluent means one should be thin and it further reflects the resources that the individual has to engage in self-presentation strategies such as going to the gym or getting into an exercise program.  Body Dissatisfaction and Self-Esteem According to Fox (1997), young children develop a sense of what is beautiful or ugly by 11 years of age. They sort of have an idea about their physical appearance at that time. Physical features like height, facial features, physique, clothes and hair have been consistently related to self-esteem even during childhood and more so in adolescence. If this is the case, then it is important that children will not be exposed to the faulty thinking that fat is ugly or that thin is beautiful to the point that they develop dissatisfaction in their bodies or think too little about themselves. The importance of the body to increase self-esteem is seen in how individuals resort to self-presentation strategies. It is materialized in the willingness of people to undergo unhealthy or expensive practices such as acquiring a suntan or undergoing cosmetic surgery in order to look attractive (Leary, Tchividjian & Kraxberger, 1994 as stated in Fox, 200, p. 122). Adolescents dabbling into steroids to increase muscle mass, excessive use of laxatives and diuretics to lose weight and utilizing maladaptive eating behaviors to trim down are also examples of the aforementioned behaviors. Needless to say, women already develop unreasonable thinking patterns as early as adolescence and can be very harmful if the idea is not modified or given proper attention. Individuals, who are considered vulnerable, such as those who have low self-esteem and who live amongst people who promote female body dissatisfaction, may manifest their emotional disturbance through eating dysfunction (Lee, 1991). It has been documented that there is indeed a strong relationship between levels of body dissatisfaction and eating dysfunction (Killen et al, 1996; Leon et al, 1993). Evidently, it all starts with certain dissatisfaction in one’s body. It is always possible that because of the many choices created for women to get what society proliferates as a beautiful body, they tend to get more dissatisfied with what they already have. More specifically, products and services that pertain to diet pills, fast weight loss programs, and crash diets could have implanted in their mind that they don’t have the best body. Eating Attitude        Dieting usually accompanies and is probably motivated by “feeling fat” even if it appears in the absence of objective reasons for such concern (Striegel-Moore, et al, 1986). A person resorts to dieting when he or she measures her Body Mass index or weight and perceives its results to be indicating that she is fat. Estimates indicate that at any one time, nearly 50% of North American women are on a diet. The money spent on diet books, calorie-reduced food and weight loss program nearly doubled in the 1980’s. Because of this, women have become so focused on how they look that their eating habits have been pushed at the bottom of the list. Thus, healthy eating attitudes have been replaced by strict dieting that gradually withers the mind and the body to the point of developing disorders. Women have given more premiums on their appearance than their capacities. They have relegated the notion that food is essential to accomplish activities of daily living, and not just as means by which the body can accumulate fats. Body Mass        Body weight, most frequently represented as Body Mass Index (BMI) or the weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared, and body fat content have consistently been found, particularly among women, to have a direct relationship with measures of body dissatisfaction (Bailey et al, 1990; Brodie & Slade, 1988; Davis, et al, 1994). This reflects that the greater the Body Mass Index, the greater the dissatisfaction of women. These women seem to have forgotten that Body Mass Index can also indicate their physical abilities more than their appearance. All they seem to see is that the higher the Body Mass Index figure, the uglier they are. Research has also shed light on other body parts or anatomical landmarks that have been viewed as benchmarks of body dissatisfaction. One study by Davis, et al. (1994) showed that women viewed the hip diameter measurement as a more important factor in the determination of body dissatisfaction than the over all estimate of body frame. Even if they had a normal to low body mass index, if they had a wider hip diameter, then women still perceived this as being fat. “Thinner”, using this perspective, means that women want to have narrower hips.  Mass Media        Considerable research has demonstrated that there was a trend over the past 30 years centering on the idea of ultra thinness and ultra slenderness as the standard of female attractiveness (Garner, et. al, 1980; Mazur, 1986; Silverstein et. al, 1986). When the women featured were beauty pageant winners, then women had the notion that being beautiful meant one had to have a body such as those befitting a beauty queen. Furthermore, this trend has been gaining momentum as more and more women believe in the information they obtain from magazines and media (Morris, et al, 1989; Wiseman et al, 1992). Mass media’s depiction of these fashion icons have contributed to the estimated 90% of North American women who are dissatisfied with their body shape and size (Probast & Lieberman, 1992).        A study by Hamilton and Walter (1993) showed a group of bulimic and anorexic patients a series of photographs featuring female fashion models. They showed a 25% increase in body estimation after viewing the said photographs. Results suggest that stimuli can have effects in body image perceptions, such as in the case of television and magazines, depicting hourglass shaped bodies of models who advertise a wide array of products. Conclusion   Women of today have been exposed to what is considered beautiful that if they think that they do not fit in this category, they start feeling lowly about themselves. This then leads them to adapt unhealthy attitudes and eating habits that gradually result to eating disorders. References Fox, R. (1997). The Physical Self: From Motivation to Well-Being. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Hetherington, E. M. & Parke, R. D. (2003). Child Psychology: A Contemporary Viewpoint (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Humpry, T. A., & Ricciardelli, L. (2004). The Development of Eating Pathology in Chinese- Australian Women: Acculturation Versus Culture Clash. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 35: 579-588. Sheffield, J.K., et. Al (2005). A Comparison of Body Image Dissatisfaction among Australian and Hong Kong Women. European Eating Disorders Review. 13: 112-124. Tiggemann, M. & Ruutel, E. (2001). A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Body Dissatisfaction in Estonian and Australian Young Adults and its Relationship to Media Exposure. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 32:736-742.         Read More