BIRES
BIRES: Building body image resilience in populations undergoing rapid economic development
Funder: ERC Advanced Grant / UKRI Horizon Guarantee funding. 2024-2029 (€2.5M)
Principle Investigator: Prof Lynda Boothroyd
Team: Dr Elizabeth Evans, Dr Tracey Thornborrow, Dr Ana Chamorro Coneo, Dr William Flores, Dr Macdonald Matika, Dr Moises Mebarak, Dr Fabienne Andres
Collaborating universities: Universidad del Norte, Colombia; URACCAN, Nicaragua; University of Zimbabwe.
Existing body image intervention research focuses on high-income, mostly Western populations, largely excluding low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). BIRes will establish an evidence base and theoretical framework for body image education in LMICs, through the delivery and systematic evaluation of a culturally-tailored intervention in multiple LMIC populations undergoing rapid economic and social change. This project will develop our understanding of body dissatisfaction and eating disorder risk across the diverse cultural settings in which these occur by reversing the typical focus on urban, middle-class samples. It also ensures strong cultural grounding by integrating controlled cross-cultural studies with locally-led participatory-action research. We will initially focus on two economically and ethnically diverse regions in the Caribbean Coasts of Nicaragua and Colombia, then extend into broader Latin America and Africa to finally encompass over 3000 participants in 6 countries.
