C. Vincent1,2, D. Prud’homme,2,3, I. Giroux1;
1School of Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, 2School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, 3Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB

Disordered eating (DE) includes a range of unhealthy eating behaviours that can be detrimental to an individual’s physical and psychosocial wellbeing. Little is known about middle-aged women’s experience of body image in relation to DE. In particular, the menopausal transition involves hormonal fluctuations, shifts in body composition and increased psychological challenges, which could influence the role of body image in DE development in this population.

Investigate differences in body image perception among perimenopausal women with higher compared to lower levels of DE.

This cross-sectional analysis included data from 83 healthy and initially premenopausal women (47-55 years, BMI3 months or amenorrhea <12 months. DE was assessed using the cognitive dietary restraint, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating subscales of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18. Body image was assessed using Mendelson’s Body Esteem Scale. Independent t-tests were used to compare body image scores in women with higher versus lower levels of each DE subscale.

Body image scores were significantly better in women with lower cognitive dietary restraint (M =57.9, SD =9.1) compared to their higher counterparts (M =52.9, SD =9.0), t(81) =2.396, p =0.019, d =0.556, while no significant difference was observed for groups of emotional and uncontrolled eating.

In perimenopausal women without obesity, poor body image may be more prevalent among women with higher cognitive dietary restraint. Nonetheless, overeating-related behaviours such as uncontrolled- and emotional eating have also been associated with poor body image in younger populations, warranting caution with the interpretation of our results.

Dietetic professionals should be alert to the co-occurrence of disrupted body image and restrictive eating behaviours in women undergoing menopause. Future research may consider investigating risk factors and potential repercussions of DE in this population.

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