Body size preferences among young women in five Arab countries: a cross-cultural study
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Abdulrahman O. Musaiger
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to highlight body size preferences among university females in five Arab countries.
Methods: The sample comprised 1134 females between 17 and 32 years old from universities in five Arab countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Oman and Syria. A silhouette figure scale was used to examine body size preferences.
Results: There were significant differences between countries regarding female body size preferences (p<0.001) and for preferred body size for men (p<0.001). In general, the university females preferred a thinner body size for themselves than that perceived for men.
Conclusion: There was a drastic change in body size preferences for women from plumpness to thinness. Sociocultural factors may play a role in the differences in the body size preferences between countries.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Shaima Hussain (Bahrain), Huda Hussain (Egypt), Lolia Adeeb (Jordan), Abeer Al-Mahrogy (Oman) and Firas Ezzdeen and Reem Tarqjy (Syria) for their valuable work in collecting the data.
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© 2014 by De Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Healthy eating and physical activity
- Reviews
- A comprehensive review of mental health gatekeeper-trainings for adolescents and young adults
- A conceptual framework for early adolescence: a platform for research
- Original Articles
- Body image satisfaction and self-esteem in Thai female adolescents: the moderating role of self-compassion
- Iranian university students’ perceived reproductive health needs
- An exploration of adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury and religious coping
- Adolescents’ view of health concept and its risk factors: a literature review
- Suicide attempts and suicides in Bolivia from 2007 to 2012: pesticides are the preferred method – females try but males commit suicide!
- Predictive factors and psychosocial effects of Internet addictive behaviors in Cypriot adolescents
- Nutrition, lifestyle factors, and mental health in adolescents and young adults living in Austria
- University students’ point of views to facilitators and barriers to sexual and reproductive health services
- The context of alcohol consumption among adolescents and their families
- Determinants of condom use at sexual debut among young Vietnamese
- Associations between sleep disturbance and suicidal ideation in adolescents admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit
- Body size preferences among young women in five Arab countries: a cross-cultural study
- Drug knowledge of expatriate adolescents in the United Arab Emirates and their attitudes towards self-medication
- Perspectives of clinical medical directors in child and adolescent psychiatry: diagnostic and treatment needs of migrant families
- Factors associated with physical inactivity among female and male rural adolescents in Borneo – a cross-sectional study
- Book Review
- Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain by Daniel J. Siegel M.D
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Healthy eating and physical activity
- Reviews
- A comprehensive review of mental health gatekeeper-trainings for adolescents and young adults
- A conceptual framework for early adolescence: a platform for research
- Original Articles
- Body image satisfaction and self-esteem in Thai female adolescents: the moderating role of self-compassion
- Iranian university students’ perceived reproductive health needs
- An exploration of adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury and religious coping
- Adolescents’ view of health concept and its risk factors: a literature review
- Suicide attempts and suicides in Bolivia from 2007 to 2012: pesticides are the preferred method – females try but males commit suicide!
- Predictive factors and psychosocial effects of Internet addictive behaviors in Cypriot adolescents
- Nutrition, lifestyle factors, and mental health in adolescents and young adults living in Austria
- University students’ point of views to facilitators and barriers to sexual and reproductive health services
- The context of alcohol consumption among adolescents and their families
- Determinants of condom use at sexual debut among young Vietnamese
- Associations between sleep disturbance and suicidal ideation in adolescents admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit
- Body size preferences among young women in five Arab countries: a cross-cultural study
- Drug knowledge of expatriate adolescents in the United Arab Emirates and their attitudes towards self-medication
- Perspectives of clinical medical directors in child and adolescent psychiatry: diagnostic and treatment needs of migrant families
- Factors associated with physical inactivity among female and male rural adolescents in Borneo – a cross-sectional study
- Book Review
- Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain by Daniel J. Siegel M.D
