Body Shape

Objective: To provide a summary of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). Conclusions: Anorexia nervosa affects only a small proportion of the Australian and New Zealand population but it is important because it is a serious and potentially life-threatening illness. Sufferers often struggle with AN for many years, if not for life, and the damage done to their minds and bodies may be irreversible. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by a deliberate loss of weight and refusal to eat. Overactivity is common. Approximately 50% of patients also use unhealthy purging and vomiting behaviours to lose weight. There are two main areas of physical interest: the undernutrition and mal-nutrition of the illness and the various detrimental weight-losing behaviours themselves. Basic psychopathology ranges from an over-valued idea of high salience concerning body shape through to total preoccupatio...

Objective To compare the prevalence of eating disorders (ED), socio-cultural risk factors, and body image characteristics in two populations of female adolescents, one Mexican and one Spanish, from similar socio-economic backgrounds. Method A total of 467 Spanish and 329 Mexican girls aged from 11–12 to 17–18 years were assessed using the Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT-26), the CETCA (Eating Disorders Assessment Questionnaire), the CIMEC (Questionnaire on Influences on Body Shape Model), and a survey of socio-demographic and risk factors produced for this study. Results One out of four subjects showed a significant risk of an eating disorder and 6–7% probably already had one. No significant differences were found between the two samples. Significant differences were found in risk behaviors: more Spanish girls reported body dissatisfaction and binging; more Mexican girls had a history of psychiatric and psychological treatment, pressure from parents and friends to lose weight, dieting, physical activity and vomiting to lose weight, and a history of greater weight loss. In both the groups around 50% of subjects wanted to increase the size of their breasts. However, significantly more Mexican girls desired thinner arms and narrower shoulders and back, and more Spanish girls wanted thinner hips, buttocks, and legs, parts of the body that many Mexicans wanted to increase. Conclusions Risk behaviors and the ideal body models of these Spanish and Mexican adolescent girls varied significantly, indicating major socio-cultural differences. However, the prevalence of ED was similar. Further research should aim to clarify whether the similarities found between this Spanish sample and a Mexican sample taken from an upper-middle class urban environment, a minority that is unrepresentative of the general population, are also observed in samples from other sectors of Mexican society.

We drew on Foucault's notion of ‘practices of the self’ to examine how young people take up, negotiate, and resist the imperatives of a public health discourse concerned with the relationships between health, fitness, and the body. We did this through a discussion of the ways young women and men talk about their own and others' bodies, in the context of a number of in-depth interviews conducted for the Life Activity Project, a study of the place and meaning of physical activity in young people's lives, funded by an Australian Research Council Grant. We found that the young women and men in the study engaged the health/fitness discourse very differently: for the young men, health conflated with fitness as an embodied capacity to do physical work; and for the young women, health was a much more difficult and complex project associated with managing and monitoring practices associated with eating and exercise to maintain an ‘appropriate’ body shape.

Objectives and Participants: Changes in body weight, composition, and size were examined in college freshmen at the beginning (initial, n = 240) and end of fall semester 2007 (n = 214) and the end of spring semester 2008 (n = 205). Methods: Height, weight, body composition, and waist and hip measurements were assessed. Results: Mean weight, body mass index (BMI), absolute and percent body fat all increased significantly over fall semester and the academic year. About 31% of freshmen lost ≥5 lbs. Mean academic year weight gain was 2.6 lbs (entire group) and 6.0 lbs (weight gainers); body fat increased by 4.4 lbs in the weight gainers. A significant correlation (r = .509) was found between weight change and waist circumference change, but not between weight change and waist to hip ratio change. Conclusions: Freshmen weight gain is associated with increases in body fat and waist circumference, which may be troublesome should the trend continue throughout college.

In this paper we present a methodology for adjustment of subsonic compensation characteristics of an aerodynamic-compensation Pitot tube. This methodology is based on manipulation of a Pitot tube profile (shape) downstream of the static pressure port such that its subsonic characteristics are modified while the supersonic characteristics remain unchanged. Due to this “rear-body” shape adjustment, complete redesign of a developed or in service Pitot tube is not required. We have used computational fluid dynamics tools in the analysis and design refinement of a Pitot tube by rear-body shape adjustment. The complete Mach number regime (M<2) has been computationally analyzed for three different rear-body profiles. The results of our study indicate that significant variation in subsonic compensation characteristics of a Pitot tube is possible by this method.

This study analyzed the characteristics of 3D body scan measurement (SM) by determining the differences between SM and manual measurement (MAM). Manual measurement data of women in age ranging from 20 to 75 years were obtained from the fifth Size Korea survey and used for analysis.The analysis of ‘mean difference between SM and MAM’ (MD) based on all subjects showed that most torso circumferences have larger differences (SM > MAM) than lengths or heights. The analysis of difference according to age groups showed that for all measurements, the MD was significantly different among the groups. The measurements showing a distinct dependence on age were bust circumference, under-bust circumference, and lateral shoulder length. The analysis of difference according to the BMI (Body Mass Index) groups showed that the differences increased with increasing BMI in most circumferences. Based on our analysis, guidelines for correcting and improving the SM are presented.Relevance to industry: Recently, SM is used as an alternative to MAM as information for designing industrial products. This comparison of SM with MAM provides guidelines to use SM correctly. It also contributes to improving the accuracy of automatic SM extraction programs by providing information on the effects of age and BMI body shape on SM.

Ninety-six Malaysian and British men rated for physical attractiveness a set of photographs of real women in profile, with known body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Results showed that BMI accounted for the greater amount of variance in all settings. There were also significant differences in preferences for body weight, with low resource, low socioeconomic status (SES) raters preferring a significantly heavier partner than high resource, high SES raters. The disparity with previous findings using line drawings of women in profile was discussed in terms of the weaknesses of line-drawn stimuli.

Three purported cues to perceived male physical attractiveness are the waist-to-chest ratio (WCR), body mass index (BMI) and the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). This study examined the relative contribution of each cue in several socio-economically distinct populations. Ninety-five female participants from Britain and Malaysia were asked to rate a set of images of real men with known WCR, BMI and WHR. The results showed clear differences along a gradient of socio-economic development. In urban settings, WCR was the primary component of attractiveness ratings, with BMI playing a smaller role and WHR not reaching significance. In the rural setting, BMI was the primary predictor of attractiveness, with WCR playing a more minor role and WHR not reaching significance. In general, urban participants were more reliant on body shape and chose a relatively slim figure with an ‘inverted triangle’ shape; rural participants were more reliant on body weight and chose a heavier figure with a less triangular shape. These findings are discussed in terms of evolutionary psychological explanations of mate selection and sociological theories that emphasise the effect of resource scarcity on preferences for body shapes and sizes.

Among primates, the genus Homo has a unique sexual dimorphism in general body shape. The stenotypic female “hourglass figure” has often been attributed to sexual selection. Sexual dimorphism both in shape and in position of the center of body mass (CoM) emerges during puberty and is related to hormonal influences. These are only the proximal and not the ultimate causes of this feature. This article explores the hypothesis that the evolutionary (i.e., ultimate) reason for female body shape and male preference for a lower waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is due to the acquisition of bipedal locomotion and different biomechanical constraints on each sex. The demands of pregnancy and subsequently carrying infants may have more tightly constrained CoM in females than in males. A lower-position of CoM relative to height (RCoM=(CoM/height)*100%) would contribute to better stability during pregnancy and infant carrying. Using body measurements from 119 female students, we show that RCoM correlates negatively with only maximal thigh circumference and positively with only WHR and shoulder width. The relationship between RCoM and traits that best characterize female body shape seems to confirm a hypothesis of biomechanical selection pressure that may have acted on Homo female morphology, thus contributing to sexual dimorphism. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 15:144–150, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

In this paper, we presented automatic body landmark identification algorithms that deals flexibly with the difference in body shapes and reduces the inconsistency resulting from the differences in body shapes. First, the landmark search range was defined using the statistical analysis. Next, body scan direction was identified and it was segmented. Next, automatic landmark identification algorithms were developed for each of the six landmarks and the accuracy was examined for each body shape. The scans were extracted from 5th Size Korea database. This algorithms were successfully tested on various body shapes and improved the robustness.In automatic body measurement systems, the landmark location error occurring at nonstandard body shapes nullifies the advantage of saving time. It also makes the 3D scan measurements unreliable. The improvement of reliability and accuracy of the automatic 3D body measurement algorithm for various human body shapes will reduce the time for performing measurements and be practical for use in human-size-related production processes.► We developed automatic body landmark identification algorithms. ► The algorithm deals flexibly with the difference in body shapes and reduces the inconsistency resulting from the differences in body shapes. ► The algorithms were successfully tested on various body shapes and improved the robustness.

... Permissions & Reprints. Starvation prior to slaughter in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): I. Effects on weight loss, body shape, slaughter-and fillet-yield, proximate and fatty acid composition. Olai Einen * , Børre Waagan and Magny S. Thomassen. ... 3.4. Fatty acid composition. ...

Introduction: The purposes of this study were to examine (a) the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and the perception of body image, (b) the body satisfaction level (BSS), and (c) the most satisfied and dissatisfied body part. Methods: 588 university students (aged: 20.0±2.2 years; BMI: 20.3±2.8 kg/m 2) from four universities in Hong Kong indicated their perceived 'ideal' and the 'healthiest' male and female figure from 9-figure rating scale. Body Image Discrepancy (BID) between their 'current' and 'ideal' figure was calculated. Results: Men reported significantly higher level of BSS than women. BMI correlated with BSS in women (r=.-263, p<.01) but not in men; BMI correlated with BID in women (r=.446, p<.001) and men (r=.587, p<.001). Most respondents indicated 'no part' as their most satisfied body part. Men and women stated their most dissatisfied body part was abdomen and thigh respectively. BSS was the highest in normal weight men and underweight women. Overweight respondents rated significantly larger figure as their 'ideal' size than their underweight and normal weight counterparts. Conclusions: An increase in BMI aggravates an increase in their desire to be thinner. It is necessary to help university students in Hong Kong to develop a healthy and realistic body image.

The study describes the long-term outcome of a program aimed at the prevention of eating disorders in a world-class, residential ballet school for female and male students, ages 10–18. The prevention program followed the paradigm of health promoting schools outlined by the World Health Organization and involved systemic changes as well as direct interventions with students. Three all-school surveys have been conducted, the baseline survey was conducted in 1987, within the first year of implementation of the program, and the second and third ones in 1991 and 1996, respectively. Measures included the Diagnostic Survey for Eating Disorders, the Eating Attitude Test, and the Eating Disorder Inventory. Comparisons between the baseline cohort and the two latter cohorts, revealed significant reductions in disordered eating patterns and disturbed attitudes about eating and body shape, as well as significant increases in healthy eating patterns. The study suggests the benefits of implementing multifaceted prevention programs for eating disorders in high risk settings.