Fat distribution in young women: Associations and interactions with behavioural, physical and psychological factors

Abstract

The combined influence of waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI) was assessed on a measure of weight and body-image concerns in a group of 167 young women. Due to rather conflicting results in the existing literature, and based on a related body of research, we predicted that BMI (as an index of size) and WHR (as an index of shape) would operate interactively in accounting for the variance in the dependent variable. Our results confirmed this prediction. When body size was small, high WHR (i.e. an androidal fat pattern) was associated with greater weight and body-image concerns. When body size was large, however, low WHR (a gynoidal fat pattern) was associated with this variable. From these results, we conclude that curvaceousness only enhances body-image perceptions when body size is small. When body size is large, it tends to have the opposite effect. In addition, we found some support for the theory that psychosocial factors contribute to the abdominal accumulation of body fat. Extraversion—a personality characteristic associated with optimism and positive affectivity—was inversely related to WHR even after controlling for BMI, and partialling out the effects of physical-activity level.