To investigate the nutritional status of North African (NA) immigrant women in Italy, analysing their body size, adiposity and body image perception in comparison to Italian natives and NA residents.

The study utilized a cross-sectional design. Anthropometric traits were directly measured and a few indices were computed as proxy measures of nutritional status and adiposity. Body image perception was assessed using silhouette drawings. ANCOVA, adjusted for age, was used to compare anthropometric traits among different groups of women and the χ2 test to analyse differences in the prevalence of nutritional status.

Italy and North Africa (Tunisia, Morocco).

A sample of 433 women aged 18–60 years old: NA immigrants (n 105); Italians (n 100); Tunisians (n 104); Moroccans (n 124).

Overweight/obesity prevalence was very high in immigrants (79·8 %). Immigrants had the highest BMI value, the greatest hip circumference and mid upper-arm circumference. Their triceps skinfold thickness was significantly higher than that of Italians, but lower than that of NA residents.

NA immigrant women in Italy showed a higher incidence of overweight compared with Italians and NA residents. All groups showed a preference for a thinner body in comparison to their actual bodies and the immigrants are the most dissatisfied. Immigrants remain a high-risk group for obesity. Assessment of their body composition and health risk profile should be improved by using specific anthropometric measures that are easy to collect even in the case of large migration flows.

The aim of the present study was to identify correlates of body image perception and dissatisfaction among school-aged children from Colombia, a country undergoing the nutrition transition.

Cross-sectional study. Using child-adapted Stunkard scales, children were asked to indicate the silhouette that most closely represented their current and desired body shapes. Body image dissatisfaction (BID) score was estimated as current minus desired silhouette. Height and weight were measured in all children. Sociodemographic data were collected through questionnaires completed by the children's mothers.

Public primary schools in Bogotá, Colombia.

Children aged 5–12 years (n 629) and their mothers.

Mean BID score was 0·1 (sd 1·7). The strongest predictor of BID was actual BMI-for-age Z-score (BAZ). Compared with children with BAZ ≥ −1 and <1, those with BAZ ≥ 2 had a 1·9 units higher BID score (P for trend <0·0001). BID tended to be higher in girls than boys at any level of BAZ. Other correlates of BID included child's height-for-age Z-score, maternal BMI and dissatisfaction with the child's body, and home ownership.

Among school-aged children from a country experiencing the nutrition transition, body image perception was associated with the child's weight and height, and with maternal BMI, dissatisfaction with the child's body and socio-economic level.

To assess body image perception and satisfaction with current body image across the EU and to explore the influence of sociodemographic variables, body-weight change and strategies for losing weight on body image perception.

A cross-sectional study in which quota-controlled, nationally representative samples of approximately 1000 adults from each country completed a face-to-face interview-assisted questionnaire.

The survey was conducted in the 15 member states of the EU between March and April 1997.

The questionnaire was completed by 15 239 subjects (aged 15 years and upwards). Data were weighted by population size for each country and by sex, age and regional distribution within each member state.

Just 39% of respondents in the EU were satisfied with their weight and these were more likely to be male (46%) rather than female (31%). Across the EU 29% of Finnish subjects were content with their weight compared with 47% in Belgium and 48% in Luxembourg. The highest percentage of subjects who were content with their body weight was among females who were underweight (58%) and males who were normal weight (66%). A further 20% of underweight females wished to be lighter compared to only 5% of males. Diet was the most frequently selected method for losing weight especially among females wishing to be considerably lighter (27%) while males were as likely to use exercise as diet as a strategy to lose weight.

Geographical and sociodemographical influences on body image perception are evident across the EU. There were clear gender differences in the desire to be thinner with a high proportion of females who were underweight being content to be so.