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Body image interventions in rapidly developing populations

Low-income communities around the globe are experiencing rapid and accelerating increases in access to visual media via the internet and satellite television alongside substantial changes in diet, which put them at ever increasing risk of eating disorders and related pathologies. And yet, there is no evidence base demonstrating the best means of preventing these pernicious mental health conditions becoming entrenched. There is thus an urgent need to develop eating disorder prevention education suitable for communities experiencing rapid globalisation and economic development.

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 Mubarak, 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.

Schematic of the BIRES project

Past projects: Seed Award – Establishing Best Practice in Eating Disorder Prevention in LMICs

Principle Investigator: Prof Lynda Boothroyd
Collaborators: Prof Phillippa Diedrichs, Dr Elizabeth Evans, Dr Tracey Thornborrow
Dr Moises Mubarak, Dr David Kolar, Macdonald Matika, Prof Pascale Bovet

This Wellcome funded seedcorn project developed and piloted a body image education program in rural Nicaragua, and gathered survey and qualitative data on body image concerns in low-income barrios in Barranquilla, Colombia, and amongst Zimbabwean university students. Outcomes included, new translations of body image measures in Latin American Spanish, successful pilot data for the project above, and a new focus on broader ‘risk appearance altering behaviours’ beyond just eating disorders.