From the Mirror to the Mind: Are Race and Gender Moderators of the Relationship Between Mental Health and Body Image Disparity?
Sara Crosby, BA1, Dylan Kittrell, BA1, Jennifer L. Lemacks, PhD, RD2, Tammy Greer, PhD2, Sermin Aras, MS, RD2
1Mississippi INBRE Outreach Scholar, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
2Mississippi INBRE Telenutrition Center, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
Along with the second highest adult obesity prevalence, Mississippi ranks as the fifth highest state in the nation reporting frequent mental distress. Even though research suggests being overweight negatively impacts mental health, body perception seems to be an important mediator of the relationship between obesity and depression. Additionally, the difference between current and ideal body image (referred to as body image disparity, BID) appears to be variable among men and women as well as between different races. Thus, it seems warranted to explore the association between BID and mental health among Mississippians, a population with unique cultural values and largest proportion of African-Americans compared to the nation. This research explores the association between different racial populations (African-American and Caucasian) and males and females in Mississippi adults. We hypothesized that individuals who viewed their current body weight as lower or higher than ideal would have lower mental health scores for all populations with potential differences based on gender and race. Data was collected via outreach events and surveys where participants (incentivized with a chance to win $50 gift cards) rated their overall mental health and selected an image that best described their current and ideal weight; BID was calculated based on the difference between current and ideal responses. Out of 405 participants, 73.6% were female, 25.9% were white, and 26.7% were black. Two-way ANOVAS were computed with self-rated mental health as the dependent variable and BID and gender as independent variables for one analysis, and BID and race as independent variables for a second analysis. A Tukey’s test, to follow up a significant main effect observed, determined individuals who viewed their current body weight as lower or higher than ideal had lower mental health scores than those with smaller discrepancies between current and ideal weight; no significant differences were found based on gender or race. Our findings suggest that large discrepancies between current and ideal body weight was related to mental health outcomes among Mississippi adults. Future research should confirm these findings in samples with greater male representation and determine practice implications for addressing body image discrepancies in practice.