The female aging body: A systematic review of female perspectives on aging,health, and body image

While most body image research has focused on young female populations, evidence has shown that as few as 12% of older women are satisfied with their body size. Recent studies have also highlighted how anti-aging discourses are promoting unrealistic body norms, which have shown to contribute to poor body image and altered health behaviors. A systematic review of empirical studies focused on older women’s perspectives of health, body image, and the aging body is presented. Findings support that body image is a persistent, lifelong issue for women and should be considered when implementing healthy aging policies and practices.     

Women's perceived body image: relations with personal happiness

The present study examined the relationships between body image and happiness in adult women. One hundred and forty-four women, with an average age of 40 years, were surveyed. Within the sample, three age groups were established: college-aged women, middle-aged women, and older women. Each participant completed the Body Esteem Scale (Franzoi & Shields, 1984), the Eating Attitudes Test (Garner & Garfinkel, 1979), and the Life Satisfaction Index A (Neugaten, Havighurst, & Tobin, 1961). Results indicated that happiness significantly and positively correlated with the three components of body esteem: sexual attractiveness, weight concern, and physical condition. There were no significant differences among the types of body satisfaction expressed by women of different ages. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of recognizing body image as a major contributor to overall life happiness in women.     

Is social engagement linked to body image and depression among aging women?

Maintaining an active and engaged social life is a critical component of aging well, and women are generally more socially active than men. However, as women age their self-perceptions of their bodies may reduce social behaviors and consequently, increase depressive symptoms. Because little is known about how body image is associated with social engagement and depressive symptoms among aging women, four aspects of body image: satisfaction with cosmetic features, body function, physical appearance, and weight were assessed among women aged 65 and older (n = 123). Regression analyses indicated that cosmetic appearance, body function, and physical appearance were associated with depressive symptoms, whereas satisfaction with weight was unrelated. Further, both greater satisfaction with cosmetic features and body function were associated with higher levels of social engagement, and social engagement mediated the association between these aspects of body satisfaction and depressive symptoms. The findings indicate that specific age-relevant aspects of body satisfaction are linked to social behavior and depression among aging women, and reduced body satisfaction may lead to lower social engagement, and consequently aging women’s health and well-being may be diminished.     

Yummy Mummy — The ideal of not looking like a mother

BackgroundPregnancy and childbirth are important life experiences that entail major changes, both physically, psychologically, socially and existentially for women. Motherhood transition and the accompanying bodily changes involve expectations of body image that are simultaneously naturally and socially produced and culturally informed by public, private and professional discourses about motherhood transition.ProblemMuch focus is levelled at the antepartum body in maternity services whereas the postpartum body seems left alone, although bodily dissatisfaction is of concern for many mothers, whose expectations of bodily appearance postpartum are sharp and explicit.AimTo explore Danish first-time mothers’ experiences of their body postpartum, focusing on body image.MethodsEleven first-time mothers participated in semi-structured interviews related to the postpartum body image. Data was analysed thematically.FindingsFour themes: (1) Reverting the body: on bouncing back and losing weight; (2) Picturing me: on standards of beauty and ideal bodies; (3) Redefining earlier self-images: on meta-reproachment of the body; (4) Idealisation of not looking like a mother: on societal pressure to think positively. Findings were discussed through the theoretical concepts by Scheper-Hughes and Lock: the body as both individual, social and political.ConclusionDespite nuanced reflections over the body as subject and object, women identified beauty as a personal trait dependent on visual appearance. Bodily beauty was identified as something individual, yet standardised. Women felt strengthened through motherhood but looking like a mother was not considered worth pursuing. To allow for women’s contradictory perspectives, caregivers are advised to communicate reflexively about the postpartum body.     

A Multilevel Perspective on Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Poverty Status and Depression Among Older Adults in the United States

Despite a large body of literature on depression, previous studies have focused on either intra- or interpersonal factors but not multilevel influences, which potentially could buffer depression in late life. The intent of this study was to identify whether the impact of poverty might be moderated by multilevel factors such as sense of control, social support, and neighborhood environment. The results showed that the elderly poor, especially older women, were more likely to be depressed. Support from friends significantly moderated the association between depression and poverty among older women. Implications for critical feminist gerontology and for practice are discussed.     

Unhealthy Weight in Indian Families: The Role of the Family Environment in the Context of the Nutrition Transition

India faces a dual burden of increasing obesity and persistent underweight as it experiences the nutrition transition—the dietary and lifestyle changes that accompany globalization, economic development, and technological change. Yet, the nutrition transition is not solely a top-down process; rather, global forces converge with local practices at multiple levels of the social ecology. The family environment, a key site for the transmission of local customs and norms, remains largely unexplored in India. We examined the extent to which opposite-gender siblings and mother–child pairs were concordant or discordant in body weight, and whether domains of the family environment, specifically, food practices, food-related gender norms, and household resources, were associated with patterns of unhealthy weight within and between families. Multilevel dyadic analysis and logistic regression were conducted using survey data from a representative sample of 400 families in a Southern Indian city. We identified substantial clustering of weight among opposite-gender sibling pairs (ICC = 0.43) and mother–child pairs, as well as important patterns of discordance, including 11% of families experiencing a dual burden of underweight and overweight. Household resources, including mother’s education and income, were salient in explaining the distribution of body weight within and between families. Importantly, less examined domains of the family environment were also relevant, including food practices (e.g., grocery shopping frequency), and food-related gender norms (e.g., mother’s control of food served at home). Continued exploration of how global and local practices converge in households will be necessary to develop programming that effectively addresses India’s dual burden of unhealthy weight.     

Why are teenagers in the United States less likely to breast-feed than older women?

Teenage mothers are much less likely than older mothers to breastfeed their infants. The lower breastfeeding rate among teenagers aged 16-19, compared with women aged 20-29, is due almost entirely to the fact that teenage mothers tend to have characteristics associated with a lower likelihood of breastfeeding among all women, such as lower educational level, lower income, and being unmarried. Even so, nearly 40% of the difference between teenage mothers aged 15 or less and mothers aged 20-29 remains unexplained by these factors and may be due to developmental aspects of adolescence, such as greater egocentricity and greater concern about body image.     

Retired women and volunteering: the good, the bad, and the unrecognized

In this article, we examine varied attitudes and practices toward volunteering in later life, as shared by a group of 40 retired women. We categorize women based on their engagement in retirement and label the categories according to societal expectations as follows: traditional volunteers as "good," nonvolunteers as "bad," and caregiving volunteers as "unrecognized." Using critical gerontology and a feminist framework, we juxtapose the lived experiences of retired women with a prevailing discourse on successful aging and civic engagement. We advocate for societal recognition of caregiving as a valuable form of volunteering, as well as the need to respect multiple ways in which older women experience and find meaning in later life.     

“Does the voice in your head get kinder as you get older?” Women’s perceptions of body image in midlife

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to identify attitudes and reactions toward physical changes in midlife women. A Facebook thread, presenting a series of comments related to an initial statement, instigated by a radio program was analyzed. The thread contained 87 responses to the question “Does the voice in your head get kinder as you get older?” Content analysis revealed positive (56%) and negative (40%) comments and four themes: physical changes with aging, the decreased importance of physical appearance, the importance of sociocultural influences, and the invisibility of women in midlife. Findings revealed both positive and negative body image experiences in women related to midlife and have implications for prevention.     

Older Women and Cosmetic Tattooing Experiences

Aging for the older women in the 21st century is more than medical issues. In this study, 62 women (ages 51–81+) obtained a total of 97 permanent makeup procedures. Procurement cues included self-improvement and friend's appearance, consistent with internal, external, and appearance perspectives of body image. Poor eyesight was also of concern (14/23%). Actual benefits included saving makeup time and money (external), while achieving personal goals (internal). This study seems to confirm that for these older women, body image remains important, especially qualities of the face. They did not shed their internal, external, nor appearance concerns associated with body image, as they aged.     

The Homeless Older Woman in Context:

Homelessness has reached crisis proportions and the number of women among the homeless is increasing at higher rates than that of men. A significant proportion of these women are older. Drawing from clinical experience and using supportive empirical data, t h ~psa per will focus upon the significance of family dysfunction and societal factors contributing to homelessness in older women as well as the role of cultural adaptation and the identification of factors which may characterize the pre-homeless state.     

Gender differences in body esteem among older adults

Ninety-five adults aged 60-91 completed measures of Body-as-Object Esteem (BOE) (i.e., appearance) and Body-as-Process Esteem (BPE) (i.e., function) to explore gender differences in body esteem among older adults. As hypothesized, a significant age by gender interaction revealed that men become more disparaging of the appearance and function of their bodies in their last decades of life, while women do not. Level of physical disability was negatively correlated with BOE, particularly for disabled women. Furthermore, as is seen across the lifespan, self-esteem is a significant predictor of BOE. Disabled participants who were older than 74 years had disproportionately low BPE scores and similarly poor global self-esteem. Whether working with older adults or studying body esteem in this population, it is vital that both dimensions of body esteem are assessed along with the impact of disability status, gender, self-esteem, and age.     

Alternative Therapies and Empowerment of Older Women

SUMMARY

There has been a striking increase in Americans' awareness and use of alternative therapies over the last decade. Women, in particular, have been drawn to explore these unconventional health practices, which include herbal medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy, manual therapies, energy healing, and mind-body therapies. From a feminist perspective, the rise in alternative therapies' use in the United States represents a shift in cultural concepts of health from an outmoded patriarchical model which disempowers older women, to a more feminine, holistic model which can reempower older women. Throughout history, older women have developed, applied, and taught the principles and practices of what are now considered alternative healing modalities, in their roles as mothers, expert herbalists, midwives, wise women, and shaman. By becoming familiar with these therapies, older women can increase their control over their health, enhance prevention and self-care, and enjoy a health-care pathway that leads to wholeness in body, mind, and spirit.     

Religious Influences on Personal and Societal Well-being

Social Indicators Research - This paper examines religious influences on personal and societal well-being in South Korea by systematically analyzing recent research on the topic, and by comparing...     

Resistance and acceptance: Ambivalent attitudes toward the aging body and antiaging practices among older Korean migrants living in New Zealand

ABSTRACT

Using intersectionality as a conceptual framework, this study investigated how older Korean women living in New Zealand perceived their aging bodies, antiaging practices and/or products, and how they used such products. Thematic analysis identified three themes: tension between acceptance of the aging body as an inevitable process and transformation of the aging body into a healthy body, juggling between abstinence and use of antiaging products and practices, and redefining natural aging. The findings challenge binary interpretations between “acceptance” of and “resistance” to the experiences of the aging process and the use of antiaging practices.     

Quality of Life and Its Influencing Factors Among Centenarians in Nanjing,China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Social Indicators Research - As centenarians are the most vulnerable social group among older adults, their quality of life (QoL) is of great significance for the realization of healthy aging and a...     

Low birth weight,social factors,and developmental outcomes among children in the United States

We used six waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Child Data (1986-1996) to assess the relative impact of adverse birth outcomes vis-à-vis social risk factors on children's developmental outcomes. Using the Peabody Individual Achievement Tests of Mathematics and Reading Recognition as our outcome variables, we also evaluated the dynamic nature of biological and social risk factors from ages 6 to 14. We found the following: (1) birth weight is significantly related to developmental outcomes, net of important social and economic controls; (2) the effect associated with adverse birth outcomes is significantly more pronounced at very low birth weights (< 1,500 grams) than at moderately low birth weights (1,500-2,499 grams); (3) whereas the relative effect of very low-birth-weight status is large, the effect of moderately low weight status, when compared with race/ethnicity and mother's education, is small; and (4) the observed differentials between moderately low-birth-weight and normal-birth-weight children are substantially smaller among older children in comparison with younger children.     

Influence of grandmothers on breastfeeding practices in a rural community in Papua New Guinea: A critical discourse analysis of first-time mothers’ perspectives

BackgroundAlmost all babies are breastfed in Papua New Guinea (PNG); yet appropriate breastfeeding practices are not always followed.AimTo explore the perspectives of first-time mothers in rural PNG on how the language and discourse of grandmothers about infant feeding influence their breastfeeding practices.MethodsA critical discourse analysis (CDA) approach was used to theoretically frame the analysis of twenty first-time mothers’ narratives.FindingsAnalysis revealed three themes: (i) prescribed knowledge repository, (ii) social control and dominance, and (iii) disapproval and role conflict, which provides an understanding of grandmothers’ differing views and positions on infant feeding practices and their influence on breastfeeding.ConclusionThis study shows that grandmothers remain influential in infant feeding practices in rural PNG. There appears to be a societal expectation that empowers grandmothers in the maternal decision-making processes regarding breastfeeding practice. Grandmothers’ influence includes the early introduction of complementary foods to infants less than six months old. Interventions aimed at promoting, protecting, and supporting breastfeeding need to include grandmothers.     

Using housing items to indicate socioeconomic status: Latin America

This note explores the possibility of using physical housing quality information from censuses to help indicate socioeconomic status, particularly that of children, elderly people and women in developing areas such as Latin America. We develop a comparative scale from six housing items (wall material, floor material, roof material, availability of electricity, type of sewerage and water facilities) since these items are recommended by the U.N., tend to be present in most housing censuses, tend to be highly related to each other and tend to have a similar valuation. A more basic three-item scale, consisting of the last three items listed above, is also discussed because this scale might be even more widely available while providing valuable, aggregated, information. The six-item and three-item scales correlate highly with each other. There is a wide range among Latin American countries in people's distribution along the scales but the scales themselves seem applicable everywhere. Not only have they been proving useful in our own research, but both scales correlate fairly well with a country's infant mortality rate on the aggregate level and with an individual's educational attainment among men and women 15 to 59 and among elderly people 60 years of age and older.