Relationship Between Health Literacy and Perceived Body Image in Underserved Women

Maureen Sanderson, Tilicia L. Mayo-Gamble, Mary Kay Fadden, Heather O'Hara, William D. Duport, Xiao Oa Shu, Neeraja Peterson

Research output: Contribution to conferencePresentation

Abstract

Few studies have examined the association between health literacy and perceived body image. As part of a larger clinic-based cross-sectional study, in-person interviews and body measurements were conducted with 476 women ages 40-79. Health literacy was assessed using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine consisting of a 66 word scale; women with scores less than or equal to 60 were considered to have limited health literacy and those with scores higher than 60 were considered to have adequate health literacy. Of the 476 women, 25% had limited health literacy (n=118). Measured body mass index (BMI) was converted to categories ranging from 1 (<15.8) to 9 (>=40). Women’s perceptions of the picture that looked most like them as an adult while they were not nursing or pregnant using the Stunkard Figure Rating Scale ranged from 1 (thin) to 9 (heavy). Perceived body image (PBI) was defined as the absolute value of the difference between actual BMI and diagram categories collapsing the highest (3 to 7) categories for a score ranging from 0 to 3. Logistic regression was utilized to determine the association between health literacy and PBI. After adjustment for age, education and race, women with limited health literacy were of similar likelihood to report inaccurate PBI (1 odds ratio [OR] 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53-2.27; 2 OR 1.77, 95% CI 0.82-3.83; 3+ categories OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.37-1.63) as women who reported PBI accurately. The effect of limited health literacy on PBI appeared stronger among black women than among non-black women but was not significantly different (p-value for interaction=0.62). Confirmation of our findings in larger studies may assist in elucidating the role of health literacy in accurate perceptions of body image necessary for appropriate weight control.
Original languageAmerican English
StatePublished - Jun 21 2016
EventSociety for Epidemiologic Research Epidemiology Congress of the Americas (SER) - Miami, FL
Duration: Jun 21 2016 → …

Conference

ConferenceSociety for Epidemiologic Research Epidemiology Congress of the Americas (SER)
Period06/21/16 → …

Disciplines

  • Public Health

Keywords

  • Body Image
  • Health literacy

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