A Cross Cultural Study of Body Image and Eating Habits Between Genders

This study examined the relationship between body image and eating habits across cultures. Eighty college age respondents were surveyed, 40 from Galway, Ireland (20 male, 20 female) and 35 from La Crosse (15 male, 20 female). The participants filled out the Fallon and Rozin Body Image Questionnaire and the Eating Aptitudes Test (E.A.T). The Body Image Questionnaire required the participants to rate nine pictures of different body shapes, which get increasingly larger, by (a) their own current figures, (b) their ideal figures, (c) the figure thought most attractive to the opposite sex, and (d) the most attractive figure of the opposite sex. The Fallon and Rozin survey contained questions about their eating habits as well as their current age, sex, height, and varying adult weights. As hypothesized, Ireland E.A.T scores were significantly lower when compared to U.S. scores. Also, there was a significant difference in body image scores when comparing males and females between countries; males in Ireland had a larger difference between what they want to look like and what they think they look like. In contrast, females in Ireland had a smaller difference between these same ratings. Given that Ireland is a Westernized European country, it would be beneficial for future research to focus on non-westernized cultures. INTRODUCTION The different rates of eating disorders among international cultures are largely unknown in the field of psychology. When different rates have been found within a culture, they have been loosely attributed to socioeconomic status, familiarity of these disorders, family structure, and body image disturbances (Soh, Touyz, & Surgenor, 2006). The implication of cross cultural variation on these factors has not been substantiated. Since the relationship between body image and eating habits is closely linked to the development of eating disorders, studying these relationships cross culturally will further the cultural research on eating disorders. Currently, there are numerous studies, done within the United States, which look at the relationship between body image and eating habits. Rozin and Fallon (1985) compared males’ and females’ responses to questions dealing solely with body image. Participants answered questions concerning their current figure, their ideal figure, the figure they thought would be most attractive to the opposite sex, and the figure they found most attractive of the opposite sex. Fallon and Rozin found that generally, women are less satisfied with their bodies than men. Men’s current, ideal, and attractive ratings were more similar, whereas, there was a significant difference among the same comparison data of women. These findings run parallel to the fact that more females than males are diagnosed with eating disorders (DSM-IV, 2000). Fallon and Rozin (1985) suggested that their data would be better interpreted if they had information from other cultures. Another review of eating and body image disturbances pointed out that the studies involving different cultural groups have mostly been conducted within Western nations. These cultural studies have suggested variation among cultural views of body image and eating that should be further explored by doing research in other countries besides the United States (Soh, Touyz, & Surgenor, 2006). Although it is suggested that countries outside of the United States tend to have higher body image rates and lower eating disorder prevalence (Soh, Touyz, & Surgenor, 2006), this has not been consistently reported. Some studies have found little to no differentiation among varying cultures. There is evidence that groups respond to images from western culture with decreased body satisfaction (Wildes, 2001). Further study is warranted. The current study compared college students in La Crosse, Wisconsin and Galway, Ireland. It is hypothesized that 1) the U.S. sample would yield lower body images than the Ireland sample; 2) the US would have less healthy eating habits than the Ireland section.