Does obesity rule out happiness? : preschool children’s perceptions of beauty-related happiness

2022
journal article
article
dc.abstract.enBackground: Obesity is considered to be one of the most important factors reducing the sense of happiness and satisfaction with life, especially among women. This belief already exists in middle childhood, as the preschool period is a crucial point in the development of attitudes towards beauty. Preschoolers can identify physically attractive individuals, and they might already form attributions regarding the looks of adults (especially women), which in turn may constitute a foundation for their future concept of beauty-related happiness. Children’s attitudes towards the body are also strongly influenced by the content of gender stereotypes that prescribe and proscribe what women and men should look like. In our study, we aimed to analyse the relationship between associations of obesity and happiness made by preschool girls and boys (5-year-olds). Methods: A total of 680 families with five-year-old children (329 girls, 351 boys; Mage = 5.7 years) and both parents took part in the study. Children’s associations of different types of body sizes with perceptions of happiness were measured with the Beauty & Health pictorial scale. Results: Our results indicate that obese bodies were seen as unattractive, independent of gender (p < .001). Children associated looks with happiness-the body type identified as the most physically attractive was also seen as a happiest person. Lowest happiness scores were also ascribed to obese body types, but girls assessed men with a normal body type as happier than boys (t = 2.87, p = .004). Conclusions: Female bodies are already perceived along gender stereotypical lines at the age of 5, and are also related to potential predictions concerning women’s happiness. Children assessed female individuals with slim bodies, as well as those with normal weight, as happier than obese females.pl
dc.affiliationWydział Filozoficzny : Instytut Psychologiipl
dc.contributor.authorLipowska, Małgorzatapl
dc.contributor.authorLipowski, Mariuszpl
dc.contributor.authorKosakowska-Berezecka, Nataszapl
dc.contributor.authorDykalska, Dorotapl
dc.contributor.authorŁada-Maśko, Ariadnapl
dc.contributor.authorIzydorczyk, Bernadetta - 365550 pl
dc.date.accessioned2022-07-11T16:50:54Z
dc.date.available2022-07-11T16:50:54Z
dc.date.issued2022pl
dc.date.openaccess0
dc.description.accesstimew momencie opublikowania
dc.description.versionostateczna wersja wydawcy
dc.description.volume22pl
dc.identifier.articleid339pl
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/s12887-022-03396-xpl
dc.identifier.eissn1471-2431pl
dc.identifier.urihttps://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/handle/item/295966
dc.languageengpl
dc.language.containerengpl
dc.pbn.affiliationDziedzina nauk społecznych : psychologiapl
dc.rightsUdzielam licencji. Uznanie autorstwa 4.0 Międzynarodowa*
dc.rights.licenceCC-BY
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.pl*
dc.share.typeotwarte czasopismo
dc.subtypeArticlepl
dc.titleDoes obesity rule out happiness? : preschool children’s perceptions of beauty-related happinesspl
dc.title.journalBMC Pediatricspl
dc.typeJournalArticlepl
dspace.entity.typePublication
dc.abstract.enpl
Background: Obesity is considered to be one of the most important factors reducing the sense of happiness and satisfaction with life, especially among women. This belief already exists in middle childhood, as the preschool period is a crucial point in the development of attitudes towards beauty. Preschoolers can identify physically attractive individuals, and they might already form attributions regarding the looks of adults (especially women), which in turn may constitute a foundation for their future concept of beauty-related happiness. Children’s attitudes towards the body are also strongly influenced by the content of gender stereotypes that prescribe and proscribe what women and men should look like. In our study, we aimed to analyse the relationship between associations of obesity and happiness made by preschool girls and boys (5-year-olds). Methods: A total of 680 families with five-year-old children (329 girls, 351 boys; Mage = 5.7 years) and both parents took part in the study. Children’s associations of different types of body sizes with perceptions of happiness were measured with the Beauty & Health pictorial scale. Results: Our results indicate that obese bodies were seen as unattractive, independent of gender (p < .001). Children associated looks with happiness-the body type identified as the most physically attractive was also seen as a happiest person. Lowest happiness scores were also ascribed to obese body types, but girls assessed men with a normal body type as happier than boys (t = 2.87, p = .004). Conclusions: Female bodies are already perceived along gender stereotypical lines at the age of 5, and are also related to potential predictions concerning women’s happiness. Children assessed female individuals with slim bodies, as well as those with normal weight, as happier than obese females.
dc.affiliationpl
Wydział Filozoficzny : Instytut Psychologii
dc.contributor.authorpl
Lipowska, Małgorzata
dc.contributor.authorpl
Lipowski, Mariusz
dc.contributor.authorpl
Kosakowska-Berezecka, Natasza
dc.contributor.authorpl
Dykalska, Dorota
dc.contributor.authorpl
Łada-Maśko, Ariadna
dc.contributor.authorpl
Izydorczyk, Bernadetta - 365550
dc.date.accessioned
2022-07-11T16:50:54Z
dc.date.available
2022-07-11T16:50:54Z
dc.date.issuedpl
2022
dc.date.openaccess
0
dc.description.accesstime
w momencie opublikowania
dc.description.version
ostateczna wersja wydawcy
dc.description.volumepl
22
dc.identifier.articleidpl
339
dc.identifier.doipl
10.1186/s12887-022-03396-x
dc.identifier.eissnpl
1471-2431
dc.identifier.uri
https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/handle/item/295966
dc.languagepl
eng
dc.language.containerpl
eng
dc.pbn.affiliationpl
Dziedzina nauk społecznych : psychologia
dc.rights*
Udzielam licencji. Uznanie autorstwa 4.0 Międzynarodowa
dc.rights.licence
CC-BY
dc.rights.uri*
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.pl
dc.share.type
otwarte czasopismo
dc.subtypepl
Article
dc.titlepl
Does obesity rule out happiness? : preschool children’s perceptions of beauty-related happiness
dc.title.journalpl
BMC Pediatrics
dc.typepl
JournalArticle
dspace.entity.type
Publication
Affiliations

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