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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition, Psychology and Brain Health
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1501536
This article is part of the Research Topic Eating Disorders and Eating Disorder Awareness View all 8 articles

Body Shape Concerns and Behavioral Intentions on Eating Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Study of Chinese Female University Students Using an Extended Theory of Reasoned Action Model

Provisionally accepted
Jingyi Zhao Jingyi Zhao 1Jing Zhao Jing Zhao 2Han Yuan Han Yuan 3Zeng Gao Zeng Gao 4,5*
  • 1 Nanjing Institute of Technology (NJIT), Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
  • 2 Guangdong Preschool Normal College in Maoming, Maoming city, China
  • 3 Kyungpook National University, Daegu, North Gyeongsang, Republic of Korea
  • 4 Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan Province, China
  • 5 University of Science Malaysia (USM), Penang, Penang, Malaysia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Weight and body shape concerns have become increasingly common among adolescents. Chinese university students show a high risk of eating disorder behaviors. This study aims to analyze the moderating effect of BMI on the relationships between body shape, attitudes, subjective norms, and eating disorder behavioral intentions among Chinese female university students using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) model. Methods: A stratified random sample of 679 female Chinese university students (age, mean ± SD = 19.792 ± 1.007) participated in the study.The surveys comprised the Theory of Reasoned Action Questionnaire (TRA-Q) and the Body Shape Questionnaire (BS-Q) to assess their body shape concerns and behavioral intentions regarding eating disorders. Structural equation modeling was used to test the extended TRA model, with body shape as an additional predictor and BMI as a moderator. Results: Body shape positively affected attitudes (β = 0.444, p < 0.001), subjective norms (β = 0.506, p < 0.001), and intentions (β = 0.374, p < 0.001).BMI significantly moderated the relationships between attitudes (t = -3.012, p < 0.01), subjective norms (t = -2.678, p < 0.01), and body shapes (t = -4.485, p < 0.001) toward eating disorder intentions. Conclusions: Body shape and BMI directly influence eating disorder behavioral intentions among Chinese female university students. The findings suggest that young Chinese women's eating disorder intentions are increasingly influenced by external factors related to body shape and BMI.

    Keywords: body shape concern1, behavioral intention2, eating disorders3, female university students4, theory of reasoned action5 Conceptualization, JY.Z., methodology, Z.G., software, JY.Z., validation, JY.Z., formal analysis, 12 References

    Received: 25 Sep 2024; Accepted: 12 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhao, Zhao, Yuan and Gao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zeng Gao, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, Hunan Province, China

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