Body image in the Old Order Amish: A people separate from "The World"

• Published in: The International journal of eating disorders Vol. 28; no. 4; pp. 408 - 414
• Main Authors: Platte, Petra, Zelten, Joan F., Stunkard, Albert J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.12.2000; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Age; Aged; Amish culture; Biological and medical sciences; Body Image; Body Mass Index; Eating behavior disorders; Eating disorders; Ethnic Groups - psychology; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Obesity; Old Order Amish; Personal Satisfaction; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Self image; Human; Obesity; Body perception; Attitude; Body image; Ideal; Nutrition disorder; Satisfaction; Sex; Religion; Body mass index; Body size; Protestantism; Clinical investigation; Age; Nutritional status; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0276-3478; 1098-108X
• DOI: 10.1002/1098-108X(200012)28:4<408::AID-EAT8>3.0.CO;2-U

Objective Body image measures were assessed among the Old Order Amish, a Protestant religious community living separate from Western industrialized society. Method One hundred six Old Order Amish men (n = 50) and women (n = 56), aged 14–67 years, were studied by two measures of body image: (1) body dissatisfaction as assessed by the difference between subjects' body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) and the BMI that they chose as their ideal and (2) the relative accuracy of perception of body size assessed by comparing subjects' choice of body size on a Figure Rating Scale with the choice of a relative. Results Young persons and persons of normal weight of both genders showed no body dissatisfaction or inaccuracy in their perception of their body size. Older persons of both genders, on the other hand, manifested body dissatisfaction (actual BMI greater than ideal BMI). Older women also overestimated their body size. Obese persons of both genders manifested body dissatisfaction (actual BMI greater than ideal BMI) and obese men overestimated their body size. Discussion Young Amish people do not show the body image problems characteristic of young persons in Western industrial society. Their elders and obese persons may have some such problems. 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 28: 408–414, 2000.