Human body shape is a complex phenomenon
with sophisticated detail and function. The general shape or figure of a person
is defined mainly by the molding of skeletal structures, as well as the
distribution of muscles and fat. In fact, the criteria for
judging others’ body shapes have become a recognizable social problem. At
present, the criteria that we use to judge women’s body shapes appear to be
strict with regard to what is considered
“thin”.
In this study, the
authors investigated whether the criteria for judging others’ body shapes as
“fat” or “thin” changed with the degree of satiety. And a computer-based
psychophysics task was used to examine changes in individuals’ judgments of
body shape. Nine female volunteers (age 18 - 22, height: 165.0 ± 3.5 cm, body
mass: 59.9 ± 5.0 kg, BMI: 22.0 ± 2.0 kg/m2) were participants and
all were naive to the purpose of the experiment. The participants judged nine
women’s figures as fat or skinny on a computer monitor in two conditions
(Fasting and Satiety). Each figure ranged in body mass index (BMI) from 18.3 to
45.4 (i.e., 18.3, 19.3, 20.9, 23.1,
26.2, 29.9, 34.3, 38.6, and 45.4). The response data
were sorted according to figure BMI to calculate the probabilities of judging a
figure as fat. The judgment probabilities were fitted to a cumulative density
function on a Gaussian distribution.
Parameter estimates
showed that a one-unit change in condition (Fasting vs. Satiety) resulted in a
20.0% greater probability of switching from “fat” to “thin” (SE = 0.056, z =
3.631, p < 0.0001). Notably, figures judged as “fat” in the fasting
condition were judged as “thin” in the satiety condition. In short, satiety
relaxes criteria for judging the thinness of others’ body shapes. This suggests that increases in parasympathetic nerve activity can
ease criteria for judgments of others.
Article by Naoto
Sato, et al, from Niigata University of
Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan.
Full access: http://mrw.so/5hMXSo
Image by Valentine Englert, from Flickr-cc.
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