Promoting healthy body images in populations : does body dissatisfaction influence reactions to Québec’s charter for a healthy and diverse body image?
Background: There is considerable concern around the increasing prevalence of unhealthy  eating behaviours and attitudes, disordered eating, and eating disorders. However, little is  known regarding how individual body image and size influence the way in which populations  understand, interpret, and react to initiatives designed to promote healthy body images.  Objectives: Using a population-based sample, we examined the relationship between body  dissatisfaction (BD) and perception of the Québec Charter for a Healthy and Diverse Body  Image (CHIC) and the moderating effects of BMI, age, and sex in this association. Methods:  Participants included 1738 Québec adult respondents to an online survey. Multivariate logistic  regression models were created to estimate odds ratios (OR) between BD and level of  favourability to the CHIC and to test potential interaction effects between one’s BMI category,  age, and sex with BD. Analyses were adjusted for household income, education, and  immigration status. Results: Analyses suggested that those with greater BD were less likely to  be unfavourable towards the CHIC compared to those who have no BD (OR= 0.38; 95% CI:  0.23-0.63). Respondents who were men (OR= 3.70; 95% CI: 2.12-6.43), overweight (OR=1.95;  95% CI: 1.00-3.80), obese (OR=2.91; 95% CI: 1.43-5.91), or had less than high school  education (OR=1.93; 95% CI: 1.10-3.41) were more likely to be unfavourable towards the  CHIC. Younger adult respondents were also less likely to be unfavourable (OR= 0.15, 95% CI  0.03-0.71) and those participants who had an underweight BMI were found to be significantly  more likely to be unfavourable to the CHIC (OR= 10.68; 95% CI: 2.03-56.10). No moderating  effects of BMI, age, or sex on the relationship between BD and level of favorability for the  CHIC were detected. Conclusions: This study presents one of the first efforts to examine the  impact of individual risk factors on the uptake of health promotion initiatives. Results indicate  that current body image discrepancy substantially influences the uptake of a population-based  initiative to promote healthy body image. This is a finding that requires replication and  extension.
Body dissatisfaction Body image Body mass index Québec Charter for a Healthy and Diverse Body Image Health promotion Individual perception