Keywords

ody-Esteem, Before-and-After weight loss, BMI, Self-esteem, Social Comparison

Disciplines

Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition | Psychology

Mentor

Eaaron Henderson-King

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how exposure to Before-and-After weight loss images affects body-esteem, and to explore if the race of the model moderates the relationship. Participants were 89 Caucasian females living in the United States. Participants viewed either a Before-and-After Caucasian or African American weight loss photo, or a control image. Measures of body-esteem and antifat attitudes were then collected. Unexpectedly we found that after being exposed to the images participants with a healthy BMI in the control and Caucasian model conditions reported higher body-esteem than overweight participants, however, there was no difference in the African American model condition. This difference is important because it demonstrates that body comparisons, and the effects on body-esteem, depend both on BMI of the viewer, as well as the race of the model and viewer.

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