A comparative study of the culture of thinness and nutrition transition in university females in four countries.

The purpose of this study was to examine the nutrition transition in four countries with respect to body dissatisfaction and eating styles. The target population for this study was college students in China (n=207), Japan (n=865), Jordan (n=322), and the United States (n=432). A cross-sectional survey was used to assess eating styles, disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, body esteem and dissatisfaction, and media influence. Results indicated that the Chinese sample was in an earlier stage of the nutrition transition, followed by Japan, Jordan, and the US. Interestingly, Jordanian and Chinese students exhibited the lowest level of body dissatisfaction. However, Jordanian students exhibited high levels of restrained eating similar to those seen in the Japanese and American students. The Japanese sample demonstrated a complex relationship between the culture of thinness, body dissatisfaction and eating styles. However the US sample reflected the expected levels of body dissatisfaction, high levels of restrained eating, emotional eating, and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.