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. 2023 Sep 5;11(1):264.
doi: 10.1186/s40359-023-01290-4.

Effect of age and gender on dietary patterns, mindful eating, body image and confidence

Jinsa Sara Jacob  1 , Neeraj Panwar  2
Affiliations

Effect of age and gender on dietary patterns, mindful eating, body image and confidence

Jinsa Sara Jacob et al. BMC Psychol. .

Abstract

The emergence of 'Diet Culture' came into existence with the era of pop culture, which emphasized the idea of body improvement by embracing the portrayal of unrealistic beauty standards set by the thin-ideal media. This growing and trending culture gained its popularity in India with the COVID pandemic and the imposed lockdown, wherein the prevalence of obesity and binge eating resulted from counter-regulatory eating behaviors and restrictive food intake to a greater extent of skipping meals to achieve the desired body type. The present empirical investigation focuses on understanding the gender and age-based differences (between the ages 18 to 55) among Indian population on dietary patterns, body image, mindful eating and physical appearance confidence using 2 × 3 factorial design. The tools used were Eating Behavior Pattern Questionnaire (EBPQ) [43], Body Self- image Questionnaire (BSIQ) [40], Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ) [18] and Personal Evaluation Inventory (PEI) [44] were administered on a sample size of 120, selected using convenience sampling technique. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS Version 20.0. Results of the study reveal non-significant age and gender differences for mindful eating and appearance confidence. Significant age- differences were observed for Snacking and convenience F(2,114) = 6.22, p < .05; social dependence F(2,114) = 3.87, p < .05 and height dissatisfaction F(2,114) = 8.79, p < .05. And, significant gender differences were observed for Meal Skipping F(1,114) = 6.46, P < .05; snacking and convenience F(1,114) = 4.19, p < .05; fatness evaluation F(1,114) = 5.94, p < .05 and fitness evaluation F(1,114) = 5.33, p < .05. The only significant interaction effect observed was for social dependence dimension F(2, 114) = 3.96, p < .05. Thus, high exposure to social media and diet-related content contributed significantly to changing dietary patterns, and how they look, feel or perceive their body.

Keywords: Age; Body image; Confidence; Dietary patterns; Gender; Mindful eating.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Mean and SD for dimensions of eating behavior pattern for gender and age group
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mean and SD for dimensions of body self- image for gender and age groups
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Mean and SD for Mindful eating and Physical appearance confidence for Gender and Age group
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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