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Cited by 35Eating Disorders and BehaviorsCOVID-19 and Mental HealthNutrition, Health and Food Behavior

COVID-19-Related Stress and Anxiety, Body Mass Index, Eating Disorder Symptomatology, and Body Image in Women from Poland: A Cluster Analysis Approach

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Czepczor-Bernat, Kamila, Swami, Viren, Modrzejewska, Adriana, Modrzejewska, Justyna·2021·Nutrients
DOI 10.3390/nu13041384PMC PMC8073902
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Abstract

To limit the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), many countries have introduced mandated lockdown or social distancing measures. Although these measures may be successful against COVID-19 transmission, the pandemic and attendant restrictions are a source of chronic and severe stress and anxiety which may contribute to the emergence or worsening of symptoms of eating disorders and the development of negative body image. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to: (1) classify different conditions associated with COVID-19-related stress, COVID-19-related anxiety, and weight status; and (2) analyze and compare the severity of dimensions typically related to eating disorders symptomatology and body image in individuals with different COVID-19-related stress, COVID-19-related anxiety, and weight status. Polish women (N = 671, Mage = 32.50 ± 11.38) completed measures of COVID-19-related stress and anxiety along with body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and bulimia symptomatology subscales of the Eating Disorders Inventory, and the appearance evaluation, overweight preoccupation, and body areas satisfaction subscales of the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire. The following four clusters were identified through cluster analysis: (a) Cluster 1 (N = 269), healthy body weight and low COVID-related stress (M = 3.06) and anxiety (M = 2.96); (b) Cluster 2 (N = 154), healthy body weight and high COVID-related stress (M = 5.43) and anxiety (M = 5.29); (c) Cluster 3 (N = 127), excess body weight and high COVID-related stress (M = 5.23) and anxiety (M = 5.35); (d) Cluster 4 (N = 121), excess body weight and low COVID-related stress (M = 2.69) and anxiety (M = 2.83). Our results showed that Clusters 3 and 4 had significantly greater body dissatisfaction and lower appearance evaluation and body areas satisfaction than Clusters 1 and 2. Cluster 3 also had a significantly higher level of drive for thinness, bulimia, and overweight preoccupation than Clusters 1 and 2. These preliminary findings may mean that the COVID-19 pandemic and attendant anxiety and stress caused by the pandemic are exacerbating symptoms of eating disorders and negative body image, with women with excess weight particularly at risk.

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  • Cross-sectional research found that disordered eating problems during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with increased mental health problems, including symptoms of anxiety and depression, but the direction of the association is difficult to establish using cross-sectional data.

    “Cross-sectional research found that disordered eating problems during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with increased mental health problems, including symptoms of anxiety (Bayram Deger, 2021; Czepczor-Bernat et al., 2021) and depression (Chan & Chiu, 2021; Giel et al., 2021), but the direction of the association is difficult to establish using cross-sectional data.”

    From Pathways of association between disordered eating in adolescence and mental health outcomes in young adulthood during the COVID-19 pandemic (2023) · cites this paper as Czepczor-Bernat et al., 2021

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Authors
Czepczor-Bernat, K., Swami, V., Modrzejewska, A., & Modrzejewska, J.
Affiliations
  • Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Dawida 1, 50-527 Wroclaw, Poland
  • Perdana University (MY)
  • Department of Psychology, Katowice Business University, Harcerzy Września 1939 3, 40-659 Katowice, Poland
  • University of Bielsko-Biała (PL)
ORCID
Venue
Nutrients
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2021-04-20
Volume
13
Issue
4
Pages
1384
ISSN
2072-6643 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/nu13041384
PMC
PMC8073902
OpenAlex
W3153767211
Cited by
35
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 6
FWCI
5.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Nutrients (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Anglia Ruskin Research Online (Anglia Ruskin University) (acceptedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
The publication is partially financed by the program "Inicjatywa Ekspości - Uczelnia Badawcza", University of Wrocław. (None)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, stress, anxiety, eating disorders, body image, body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, bulimia nervosa, overweight preoccupation, body mass index, overweight, women, lockdown, appearance evaluation, Polish women, Eating Disorder Inventory, Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, social distancing
MeSH terms
COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adult, Anorexia Nervosa, Anxiety, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Body Image, Body Weight, Bulimia, Communicable Disease Control, Female, Humans, Poland, Surveys and Questionnaires, Stress, Psychological, Body Mass Index, Cluster Analysis, Young Adult

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