Effects of single meal consumption perceived as healthy or unhealthy on postprandial self-esteem and positive body image in young women

Abstract

Among young American women, meal consumption perceived as unhealthy (UH) has been reported to have transiently negative effects on their self-esteem and body image (BI) compared to a meal perceived as healthy (H). However, it remains unclear whether or not the H diet elicits positive psychological responses. We therefore examined the effects of meals of different health perceptions on self-esteem, body appreciation (BA), and BI in thirteen young Japanese women. We used “H meal” containing rice, main and side dishes, and soup (P : F : C=8 : 22 : 60) or “UH meal” containing doughnuts and sugary drink (P : F : C=5 : 52 : 43) with equivalent energy and weight. Each subject was tested at approximately 9:00 a.m. after an overnight fast on two different days. Self-esteem, BA, current and ideal BI, and appetite feelings were measured from before to 2-hour after the consumption. A significantly higher scores of self-esteem and BA scores were found following consumption of the H meal as opposed to the UH meal. A greater ideal BI was observed after the H meal than the UH meal, although this difference did not reach statistical significance. These results suggest that transiently increases in self-esteem and BA were observed in young Japanese women following consumption of the meal perceived as healthy.