Survey finds opinion on ideal body image differs among white, black women

NEW YORK — Data from a survey of post-graduate and college-aged women demonstrated that white women reported less satisfaction with their own body image compared with black women. Additionally, black women preferred a heavier body image than did white women.

Simone Lauderdale, MD, of Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center, hypothesized that black women would have lower rates of disordered eating than white women. Also, she predicted the ideal body image would differ among black and white women, and that black women would be more satisfied with their body image compared with white women.

Using an 81-item questionnaire, Lauderdale and colleague Lisa J. Cohen, PhD, surveyed 96 college and post-graduate women (57 white and 21 black) on body image, disordered eating and body satisfaction based on the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns-Revised (QEWP-R), The Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-34) and The Beauty Ideals and Body Image Questionnaire (BIQ). Participants were well-matched in terms of weight, age and education.

In her presentation, Lauderdale reported white women were more likely to binge eat than black women (52.0% vs. 28.6%; P=.070) and found thinner figures more attractive than did their black counterparts (5.08 vs. 4.56; P=.06). Compared with white participants, black participants rated heavier women as more attractive (5.08 vs. 5.56; P=.03). Overweight in childhood or adulthood was reported more often among black women than white women (57.1% vs. 27.9%; P=.024).

White women were more dissatisfied with their own bodies compared with black women, though the difference was not significant (67.9% vs. 63.5%; P=.28).

“Eating disorders are often overlooked; often people with eating disorders do not seek treatment until they are well on their way in their illness. How cultural differences affect those disorders and how we as professionals can help people, regardless of their background, is very important, and I’m interested to see what more information comes from Dr. Lauderdale in the future,” said moderator Jeffrey Borenstein, MD, CEO and president of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. – by Abigail Sutton

For more information:

Lauderdale S. Abstract #8380. Presented at: American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting; May 3-7, 2014; New York.

Disclosures: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.