Perceptions of Body Image and Obesity among Cross Culture: A Review

Abstract

Body image inconvenience is a common issue not only in the United States but also worldwide. The perception towards body image is basically subjective. There are also culture-specific notions in physical appearance. Prevalence of obesity seems to be greater among the African-Americans and other ethnic minority populations than Whites. According to Jansen, 2008 there is a relationship between body image and eating habits across the cultures. Many studies have found that Black women are more satisfied with their bodies than White women. In the past, women always have been compared their bodies to celebrities, which could lead to depression and many negative consequences. Body image is a big concern among the individuals, especially in younger adults. Media had a high impact on dissatisfaction with physical body among the young adults. This leads to depression and many health problems. The significance of my review towards the field of dietetics could be to determine the perceptions of body image across cross-cultures and to determine the etiology of obesity. This could definitely shed some lights among the Registered Dietitians (RD) in terms of how body image is perceived by other cultures and aid in counseling them.