Body Image Distress and Its Associations From an International Sample of Men and Women Across the Adult Life Span: Web-Based Survey Study

Alyssa Milton; Ashlea Hambleton; Anna Roberts; Tracey Davenport; Anna Flego; Jane Burns; Ian Hickie

doi:10.2196/25329

Body Image Distress and Its Associations From an International Sample of Men and Women Across the Adult Life Span: Web-Based Survey Study

JMIR Form Res. 2021 Nov 4;5(11):e25329. doi: 10.2196/25329.

Authors

Alyssa Milton^#^{1

2}, Ashlea Hambleton^#^{3

4}, Anna Roberts^{1

3}, Tracey Davenport^{1

3}, Anna Flego⁵, Jane Burns³, Ian Hickie¹

Affiliations

¹ Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
² Sydney School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia.
³ Project Synergy, InnoWell Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia.
⁴ Inside Out Institute for Eating Disorders, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
⁵ The Movember Foundation, Australia, East Melbourne, Australia.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 34734831
PMCID: PMC8603168
DOI: 10.2196/25329

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 (F_15,4966=105.8; P<.001).

Conclusions: This study demonstrates the significant interplay between body image distress and psychosocial factors across age and sex.

Keywords: age; body image; mental health; sex differences; web-based survey; well-being.

©Alyssa Milton, Ashlea Hambleton, Anna Roberts, Tracey Davenport, Anna Flego, Jane Burns, Ian Hickie. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 04.11.2021.