Psychosocial factors underlying symptoms of muscle dysmorphia in a non-clinical sample of men.

Muscle dysmorphia is primarily characterized by an excessive preoccupation that one's body is not muscular or lean enough. Muscle dysmorphia has shown clinical similarities with eating disorders. The present study aims to explore the psychosocial factors underlying muscle dysmorphia symptoms by referring to Stice's dual pathway model (1994), a theoretical model of eating disorders. Three hundred and eighty-six men were recruited to complete an online survey including questionnaires assessing social pressures to reach a muscular body and internalization of the muscular body, drive for muscularity, muscular-enhancing behaviors, negative affect, narcissistic traits, and symptoms of muscle dysmorphia. Path analyses showed that the original model has a good fit, without, however, confirming a significant relationship between the drive for muscularity and negative affect. Thus, social pressure to reach a muscular body and its internalization were associated to a drive for muscularity and then, to muscle dysmorphia symptoms. The drive for muscularity was indirectly related to symptoms of muscle dysmorphia through muscle-enhancing behaviors as well as negative affect (although, only for individuals with higher levels of narcissistic vulnerability). Results supported the adaptation of the Stice's model to explain muscle dysmorphia symptoms and underlined the possible influence of narcissistic vulnerability traits in this condition.

Body Mass Index Accuracy in Preadolescents: Can We Trust Self-Report or Should We Seek Parent Report?

OBJECTIVES: To assess the accuracy of self- and parent-report of weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) in children between 8 and 12 years of age and to determine whether self- or parent-report should be preferred for preadolescents' subjective measures. STUDY DESIGN: Through at-home questionnaires, 875 preadolescent children (44% boys; 56% girls) and their parents (N = 821) were asked to report the children's weight and height. Objective weight and height were measured at school by trained interviewers. RESULTS: Correlations between objective, self-reported, and parent-reported measures were strong for weight, height, and BMI, but children and parents generally underestimated the children's weight by about 1 kg, their height by less than 1 cm, and their BMI by less than 0.25 kg/m(2). The magnitude of the underestimation varied by age, sex, and BMI category, with older children, girls, and children in the overweight and obese BMI categories underestimating their weight to a greater extent. Weight estimates provided by girls' parents tended to be lower than the real values more often than those of boys' parents. CONCLUSIONS: Children and parents are likely to misreport children's weight, height, and BMI. For most youths aged 8 years of age and older, self-report appears as accurate as parent-report and could, therefore, be used interchangeably.