Body Image

Several theoretical models highlight the importance of appearance-based pressures to conform to sociocultural body ideals in the development and maintenance of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Qualitative data suggest that perinatal women experience significant pressure to lose pregnancy-related weight, yet there is no validated quantitative measure of appearance-based sociocultural pr…

This systematic review synthesised evidence on the impact of yoga on body image outcomes among children and adolescents (≤ 19 years). Comprehensive searches of nine databases, preprint servers, trial registries, and conference proceedings (inception–October 2025) identified studies that examined yoga-based interventions or yoga practice in relation to body image. Eleven studies ( N = 1082) met in…

People worldwide use risky, potentially harmful cosmetic procedures to change their appearance. The newly developed Risky Appearance Altering Behaviours Inventory (RAABI) measures interest and engagement in appearance-altering behaviours, including surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures, diet pills, skin bleaching and hair straightening. RAABI items were constructed based on focus groups a…

The influence of social media on body image has been extensively studied over recent years, yet findings are often inconsistent, with many studies reporting small or negligible effects. Such inconsistencies have raised important theoretical and methodological questions about what null effects truly mean. Using social media and body image research as an exemplar, this paper explores the meaning of…

Positive body image is a multifaceted construct associated with a range of well-being outcomes. Tylka and Wood-Barcalow's (2015) framework outlined six overlapping yet unique components: (i) body appreciation, (ii) body acceptance and love, (iii) broadly conceptualizing beauty, (iv) adaptive appearance investment, (v) inner positivity, and (vi) filtering information in a body-protective manner. H…

Black feminist theory has long recognized the legacies of colonialism and racism in shaping the historical and contemporary representations of the Black female body as simultaneously hypervisible and invisible. Nevertheless, in the literature on "body image" and "disordered eating," Black feminist frameworks, critical research methods, and culturally-responsive intervention development remain und…

As conventional physical activity contexts are often male-dominated, cis-heteronormative, and uphold narrow Western beauty ideals, they contribute to the stigmatization and exclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals. Queer women may be particularly at risk, as they report the lowest rates of physical activity participation, compared to other LGBTQIA+ groups. To address this equity concern in physical acti…

Individuals who engage in maladaptive exercise for weight/shape reasons are at high risk for eating disorders (EDs). Disrupted interoceptive sensibility and anxiety sensitivity (AS) are factors that are known to increase risk for EDs and may have particular relevance to exercise. The current study used network analysis to identify central symptoms and bridge symptoms among interoceptive sensibili…