Abstract

XAVIER, Gabriela Salim  and  ALMEIDA, Sebastião Sousa. The influence of BMI and psychological variables in the body size estimation among adult women. Psico (Porto Alegre) [online]. 2016, vol.47, n.3, pp. 179-188. ISSN 1980-8623.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15448/1980-8623.2016.3.22086.

This study aimed to quantify the body size estimation to evaluate the variables that influence it - Body Mass Index (BMI), body image dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms in normal (N = 40) and overweight women (N = 40). The body image and depressive symptoms assessment were conducted by the Brazilian Figure Rating Scale (FRS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in its Brazilian versions, respectively. In the Normal weight group, the dissatisfaction and BDI scores explained 55% and 12% of the estimation variance, respectively. In the Overweight group, the body image dissatisfaction accounted for 14% of the variance of body size estimation while the BMI individually made in only 9%. When evaluated together, this percentage increased to 42%, indicating that together - BMI and dissatisfaction - aggregate greater explanatory value to this variation. The dissatisfaction was considered the most salient variable, which has influenced large percentages in the estimation values obtained, particularly among normal weight women.

Keywords : Body image; Body Size Estimation; Women; Body Mass Index; Satisfaction.

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