Body Dissatisfaction, Eating Disorders
Conditions
Keywords
Eating Disorders Prevention, Body Image Program (BIP), Body Dissatisfaction, Dissonance-Based Intervention, Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, University Students
Brief summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to examine whether the Body Image Program (BIP), a group workshop, is feasible and acceptable to deliver to young women in Mexico. The program is designed to help participants critically evaluate social pressures to be thin and to support healthier body attitudes. The main questions are: * Can the investigators successfully recruit, retain, and engage university students in the program? * Do participants find the program useful and clear? * Does the program show early indications of lowering body dissatisfaction and unhealthy eating attitudes? Participants will: * Attend 2 group sessions, one per week, each lasting approximately 2 hours (120 minutes). * Complete short activities and homework exercises between sessions, such as reflective writing or self-affirmation tasks. * Complete questionnaires at baseline (T1), 2 weeks (T2), and 6 weeks (T3).
Detailed description
This study is a pilot randomized controlled trial designed to test the Body Image Program (BIP) with female university students in northern Mexico. Eating disorders and body dissatisfaction are common among young women and often begin during the university years. Most prevention programs have been evaluated only in Western countries. This study will evaluate whether the BIP, adapted for Mexico, is feasible and acceptable to deliver among female university students in northern Mexico. The Body Image Program is a dissonance-based group intervention that encourages participants to challenge cultural pressures for thinness and to build healthier body image attitudes. In this study, participants in the intervention group will attend two sessions, each 120 minutes in duration, held once per week. Each session will include group discussions and exercises, and participants will complete short homework assignments between sessions. Sessions will be led by trained health professionals with experience in eating disorders. A total of 30 students will be recruited and randomly assigned to either the intervention group or a waitlist control group. The intervention group will be divided into small groups of about 7-8 participants to maintain interactive discussions. Students in the waitlist control group will be offered the program after completing the T3 assessment at 6 weeks. The main outcomes of this study are feasibility and acceptability, including the number of eligible students who consent to participate, the proportion who complete both sessions and assessments, and whether participants find the program useful and relevant. Questionnaires will also assess body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms, body appreciation, social physique anxiety, and thin-ideal internalization. Assessments will take place at baseline (T1, Week 0), 2 weeks (T2), and 6 weeks (T3). This pilot study will provide information about whether the Body Image Program can be delivered effectively among female university students in northern Mexico and will inform the design of a larger clinical trial in the future.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALBody Image Program (BIP)
The Body Image Program (BIP) is a culturally adapted, dissonance-based group intervention derived from the Body Project. It is delivered in two weekly sessions of 120 minutes each, in small groups of 7-10 participants, by trained health professionals with experience in eating disorders. Activities include verbal, written, and behavioral exercises to critique sociocultural appearance ideals, reduce thin-ideal internalization, and promote more adaptive body image. Each session ends with homework: after Session 1, tasks include a behavioral challenge and reflective writing; after Session 2, a commitment activity (e.g., self-affirmation or body activism) is completed within one week and submitted by email. Participants in the waitlist control arm complete the same assessments and are offered the BIP after completing the T3 assessment at 6 weeks.
Sponsors
Comenzar de Nuevo, AC
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Two-arm parallel assignment pilot randomized controlled trial, with participants allocated in a 1:1 ratio to the intervention (BIP) or waitlist control group.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 25 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Female undergraduate students * Age 18-25 years * Currently enrolled as an undergraduate student at a university in northern Mexico * Able to provide written informed consent * Sufficient Spanish language proficiency to complete the intervention and assessments
Exclusion criteria
* Current diagnosis of a severe eating disorder requiring specialized treatment * Current engagement in intensive psychiatric or psychological treatment * Insufficient availability to attend the two scheduled intervention sessions
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Eating Disorder Symptoms (ED-15 Total Score) | Baseline (T1, Week 0), T2 (Week 2), and T3 (Week 6) | Change in eating disorder symptoms measured by the Eating Disorder-15 (ED-15; Eating Disorder-15 Questionnaire), a 15-item self-report instrument that assesses core eating disorder symptoms over the past week. Items are rated on a 0-6 Likert scale. Scores yield two subscales (Eating Concerns; Weight/Shape Over-evaluation) and a total score calculated as the mean of all items. Possible scores range from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater eating disorder symptom severity. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Body Dissatisfaction (BSQ-8) | Baseline (T1, Week 0), T2 (Week 2), and T3 (Week 6) | Body Shape Questionnaire-8 item (self-report). Total score (8-48); higher scores indicate greater body dissatisfaction. |
| Body Appreciation (BAS-2) | Baseline (T1, Week 0), T2 (Week 2), and T3 (Week 6) | Body Appreciation Scale-2 (self-report, 10 items). Scores range from 1 to 5; higher scores indicate greater body appreciation. |
| Social Physique Anxiety (SPAS) | Baseline (T1, Week 0), T2 (Week 2), and T3 (Week 6) | Social Physique Anxiety Scale-7 (self-report, 7 items). Scores range from 1 to 5; higher scores indicate greater anxiety about appearance in social settings. |
| Internalization of Sociocultural Ideals (SATAQ-4) | Baseline (T1, Week 0), T2 (Week 2), and T3 (Week 6) | Internalization of Sociocultural Ideals (Thin-Ideal Internalization Subscale of the Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire-4) Self-report, 5 items. Each item rated on a 1-5 Likert scale. Total score is calculated as the mean of all items, with possible values ranging from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate stronger internalization of thinness ideals. |
Countries
Mexico
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOREva Trujillo-ChiVacuán, MD
Comenzar de Nuevo, AC
Outcome results
None listed