An Overview of Body Size Preference, Perception and Dissatisfaction in Sub-Saharan Africans Living in the United...

Body image affects health practices. With acculturation superimposed on globalization, 21st century body size preferences of African immigrants, one of the fasting growing populations in the United States, are unknown. Therefore, in African immigrants living in America we assessed: 1) body size preference; and 2) body size dissatisfaction.

Participants chose two silhouettes from the Stunkard Figure Rating Scale: one for body size preference and one for perceived body size. Each silhouette corresponds to a BMI category: (a) Underweight: 1 and 2; (b) Normal weight: 3 and 4; (c) Overweight: 5, 6 and 7; (d) Obesity: 8 and 9. Dissatisfaction was defined as the difference between silhouette numbers for perceived and preferred body size.

Characteristics of the 412 participants were: women: 42% (174/412), age 40±11y (mean±SD), range 20-69 y, BMI 27.9±4.6, range 19.5-47.3 kg/m². As a body size of preference, no one (0/412) chose obese silhouettes. Normal weight silhouettes were chosen as their body size of preference by 75% (131/174) of women and 60% (143/238) of men. Overweight silhouettes were chosen as their preferred body size by 11% (19/174) of women and 26% (62/238) of men. Combining normal and overweight silhouettes into one group, 86% (150/174) of women and 86% (205/238) of men preferred to be either normal or overweight. Underweight silhouettes were preferred by 14% (24/174) of women and 14% (33/238) of men. Dissatisfaction because body size was too large occurred in 78% (135/174) of women and 53% (126/238) of men. Dissatisfaction because body size was too small occurred in 6% (11/174) of women and 16% (38/238) of men.

African immigrants prefer body sizes which are normal or overweight. However, and presumably attributable to the combined influence of globalization and acculturation, a worrisome fraction of African immigrants favor an underweight silhouette.