Mediating factors explain anxiety experienced by women with obesity during the Covid-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic could be a source of great anxiety, especially for those at higher risk, such as women experiencing obesity. The aim of this study was to measure how some personal characteristics such as BMI (from underweight to class 3 obesity), bariatric surgery (yes or no), comorbidities, or age (as antecedent variables), and mediating factors impacted state anxiety during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Mediating factors were related to subjective knowledge or attitudes (e.g. interest or beliefs and practices around Covid-19, subjective health perception, and confidence in the government). French women (N = 532) were invited to take part in a voluntary online health survey during lockdown in Paris and its suburbs. Results showed that women with higher BMI had higher anxiety scores, primarily because they feel less healthy than other people. Secondly, the larger the body size of the participants was (BMI), the less they reported that information about Covid-19 held their attention. This lack of interest resulted in feelings of anxiety not being generated. Thirdly, the larger their body size was, the less confidence they had in the effectiveness of the proposed measures by the government and therefore, the more anxious they were. Finally, older age predicted higher interest in the pandemic, higher subjective health, and higher confidence in the government. Identifying obesity as a potential risk factor for anxiety disorders is crucial, but measuring the relationship between state anxiety and personal characteristics (e.g. BMI) requires considering mediating variables (e.g. subjective health perception). To reduce anxiety in women with obesity, it appears necessary to focus on psychological programs that can help them improve their perception of their health, as well as the confidence they may have in institutions, especially for younger women

Implicit and explicit memory bias for words related to food, shape and body parts in obese and normal weight females

Nous présentons une expérimentation qui vise, en utilisant des tâches de mémoire implicite et explicite, à étudier le processus de sélection en mémoire de stimuli chez des patientes obèses, obèses morbides et des femmes contrôles normopondérées. Les participantes (n=60) effectuent une tâche de complètement de trigrammes puis une tâche de rappel libre de 32 mots relatifs aux aliments, au corps, ou à l’apparence, ainsi que des mots neutres. Les résultats montrent un biais dans la tâche de mémoire implicite spécifique aux noms d’aliments chez les patientes obèses morbides, et spécifique aux noms d’aliments et aux mots liés à l’apparence chez les patientes obèses.  Les femmes contrôles normopondérées ne présentent aucun biais mnésique dans la tâche de mémoire implicite. Contrairement aux résultats de la tâche de mémoire implicite, ces biais ne persistent pas dans la tâche de mémoire explicite chez les patientes obèses.The aim of this study was to explore the information processing of words related to food, shape and body parts in women of obese and normal weights. Twenty severely obese patients, 20 obese patients and 20 normal weight individuals, all of whom were female, were assessed using implicit and explicit memory tasks.  The memory tasks involved words related to food, shape and body parts. Results showed biases in implicit memory measures. Severely obese women completed significantly more food-related words than other words. Obese patients completed significantly more food- and shape-related words than did the other groups. Normal weight females did not show any bias on the implicit memory measures. No explicit memory biases were found in any groups

Women with obesity are not as curvy as they think: consequences on their everyday life behavior

Two studies explore the impact of body size on daily life activities of women with obesity. In the first study, ethnographic techniques (first-person perspective video recordings) and subsequent interviews based on the video recordings were used. Results showed atypical behavior of women with obesity and ex-obese women related to memories of embarrassing experiences regarding personal body size (sitting, passing doors sideways, over-careful navigation in public space, and choosing clothes sizes too large.) Women with obesity seem to behave as if they thought they had a larger body than it actually was. These atypical behaviors are related to memories of embarrassing experiences regarding personal body size and stigma. Overweight women exhibit the same behavior but to a lesser and less systematic degree. In the second study, the represented (imagined) body size was compared to the perceived (in a mirror) body size with digital morphing techniques. In the mirror condition, the perceived image is accurate, while in the absence of a mirror women with obesity overestimate their body size by about 30%. Moreover, overestimation of imagined body size increased according to the weight status. Finally, women who had bariatric surgery had poorer estimates than women who had not. This would result of being continuously reminded of obesity and its stigma by daily embarrassing experiences, by being confronted with an environment designed for normal weight (e.g., narrow seats, turnstiles etc.) that makes obesity salient. We suggest that body size overestimation is a case of accentuation where things that matter are perceived bigger. These results could also been explained by the allocentric lock theory

What categorization tells us about food representation

Nous présentons une expérimentation qui vise, en utilisant une tâche de catégorisation, à étudier les représentations d’aliments d’un groupe de jeunes filles souffrant de troubles de conduites alimentaires et d’un groupe témoin. Les participantes (n=173) effectuent une tâche de classification de 27 noms d’aliments en fonction de leurs similarités et différences puis expliquent les critères utilisés pour réaliser cette classification. Les résultats montrent que les propriétés utilisées par les différents groupes de participantes sont différentes. Contrairement au groupe témoin, les patientes souffrant de troubles des conduits alimentaires ne catégorisent pas en fonction de connaissances socialement partagées mais en fonction de leur relation au monde et de leur pathologie. Nous discutons des apports d’une tâche de catégorisation pour mettre en évidence des représentations.This study uses a categorization task to demonstrate representations and beliefs about different types of food by eating disorder subjects and a control group. Participants (n=173) were asked to classify 27 nouns designating foods in terms of similarities and differences, and then to verbally express the criteria used for their classification. We expected to find between-group differences in terms of properties used for classification. The results confirmed this hypothesis. Unlike the control group, the patients did not create categories based on socially shared knowledge; instead, they tended to create categories based on their relationship to the world and their pathology. We discuss the benefits of this task for demonstrating representations

What categorization tells us about food representation

Nous présentons une expérimentation qui vise, en utilisant une tâche de catégorisation, à étudier les représentations d’aliments d’un groupe de jeunes filles souffrant de troubles de conduites alimentaires et d’un groupe témoin. Les participantes (n=173) effectuent une tâche de classification de 27 noms d’aliments en fonction de leurs similarités et différences puis expliquent les critères utilisés pour réaliser cette classification. Les résultats montrent que les propriétés utilisées par les différents groupes de participantes sont différentes. Contrairement au groupe témoin, les patientes souffrant de troubles des conduits alimentaires ne catégorisent pas en fonction de connaissances socialement partagées mais en fonction de leur relation au monde et de leur pathologie. Nous discutons des apports d’une tâche de catégorisation pour mettre en évidence des représentations.This study uses a categorization task to demonstrate representations and beliefs about different types of food by eating disorder subjects and a control group. Participants (n=173) were asked to classify 27 nouns designating foods in terms of similarities and differences, and then to verbally express the criteria used for their classification. We expected to find between-group differences in terms of properties used for classification. The results confirmed this hypothesis. Unlike the control group, the patients did not create categories based on socially shared knowledge; instead, they tended to create categories based on their relationship to the world and their pathology. We discuss the benefits of this task for demonstrating representations

New records of Calomys tener (Rodentia: Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) that expand the distribution and known genetic diversity for Misiones, Argentina

La provincia de Misiones tiene una gran diversidad de roedores; algunos de ellos, como Calomys tener, cuentan con pocos registros y su presencia en el territorio provincial ha sido ampliamente discutida. Los objetivos de este trabajo fueron: a) aportar información de una nueva localidad de presencia, b) describir morfológicamente, y c) analizar la variabilidad molecular del citocromo b de Calomys tener. A partir de campañas de muestreo realizadas en 2017 y 2018, se capturaron cuatro individuos que fueron identificados morfológica y molecularmente como C. tener. Estos nuevos registros amplían la distribución de la especie hacia el norte de la provincia de Misiones. Las secuencias de C. tener obtenidas en este estudio, junto a las disponibles en GenBank provenientes de Paraguay, Brasil, Bolivia y Argentina, muestran que los haplotipos encontrados en Misiones son divergentes, sugiriendo una colonización múltiple desde diferentes áreas geográficas.Misiones province has a great diversity of rodents, some of them, such as Calomys tener, have few records and their presence in the province has been widely discussed. The aims of this work were to: a) provide information on a new locality of presence, b) describe morphologically, and c) analyze the molecular variability of cytochrome b of Calomys tener. Based on sampling seasons carried out in 2017 and 2018, four individuals were captured and identifed morphologically and molecularly as C. tener. This new records extend the species distribution to the north of the province of Misiones. The sequences of C. tener obtained in this study, together with those available in GenBank from Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina, show that the haplotypes found in Misiones are divergent, suggesting multiple colonization from diferent geographic areasFil: Burgos, Eliana Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán". Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical; ArgentinaFil: Labaroni, Carolina Alicia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales. Departamento de Genética. Laboratorio de Genética Evolutiva y Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Lanzone, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales. Departamento de Genética. Laboratorio de Genética Evolutiva y Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Urdapilleta, Mara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentina. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán". Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical; ArgentinaFil: Gomez Villafañe, Isabel Elisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Cultural Sips: Exploring Sociodemographic and Dominance Factors in French Wine Appraisal

We conducted a comprehensive analysis exploring how sociodemographic variables and social dominance orientation impact preferences for specific characteristics of rosé wine