(PS7-11) Body Image and Binge Eating in Asian Adults

Eating disorders has historically been viewed as a Western culture-bound syndrome occurring among young White women with upper socioeconomic status. Findings from empirical research has challenged this perception, indicating that eating disorders affect not only White women, but also men and ethnic minority women. In light of these finding, it is particularly important to understand the factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of disordered eating among men and ethnic minority women. One of the risk factors of disordered eating is body dissatisfaction, which refers to the negative attitudes (e.g., thoughts, feelings) towards one’s body and physical appearance, usually resulting from the discrepancy between one’s current body shape and weight and the ideal body shape and weight.  Research on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating among ethnic minority women suggest the presence of different body ideals in different ethnic groups. The cultural body ideals for women tend to be slimmer in White than in Black and Hispanic cultures. However, limited studies have looked into the body image and cultural body ideals specific to Asian cultures and to men. According to the interpersonal model of binge eating, interpersonal difficulties contribute to binge eating via negative affect. Binge eating is conceptualized as a coping mechanism of interpersonal difficulties. The goals of the current study were to examine 1) body ideals in Asian men and women and 2) the applicability of the interpersonal model of binge eating in men and in Asians. Mturk participants who had completed 100+ HITS, with a minimal of 90% approval rate, identified as Asian or White, and aged 18 years or above were recruited for this micro prospective study that was 4-6 weeks apart. A total of 214 participants participated in time 1 assessment, and 156 of them returned for time 2 assessment. Participants completed the Body Figure and Fit Scale, the Social Distress Scale, and the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory. Descriptive statistics showed the ratings of ethnic group body ideal, US mainstream body ideal, personal body ideal, and current body shape in terms of body fat level and level of muscularity in Asian men and women. Regression analyses showed that interpersonal distress at time 1 predicted binge eating at time 2 in men, F (1, 64) = 50.77, p < .001, R² = 44.2% and in Asians, F (1, 64) = 22.42, p < .001, R² = 25.9%. Findings of this study shed lights on the various body ideals in men and in Asians. Additionally, results supported the applicability of the interpersonal model of binge eating in men and in Asians.