Evaluating attitudes about aging and body comparison as moderators of the relationship between menopausal status and disordered eating and body image concerns among middle-aged women

Abstract

Objective: Evidence suggests the menopausal period may be a unique window of vulnerability for the development or exacerbation of eating disorder symptoms among middle-aged women; however, it is unclear who is most at risk during this period. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether appearance-related aging concerns and body comparison, two sociocultural factors, moderated the association between menopausal status and disordered eating behaviors and body image concerns among middle-aged women.

Method: Participants (N = 310) completed an online survey about their menopausal status, aging concerns, body comparison, disordered eating, and body image concerns.

Results: Tests of moderator models revealed that at low levels of aging concerns, peri-menopausal women reported greater dietary restraint than pre-menopausal or post-menopausal women. Additionally, among women with high scores for body comparison, post-menopausal women reported significantly more dietary restraint than either pre- or peri-menopausal women.

Discussion: These findings suggest that the effects of menopause on dietary restraint may be stronger for some women than others.

Keywords: Aging concerns; Body comparison; Body image concerns; Dietary restraint; Menopause.