Literary strategy for the acceptance of body image in young Ecuadorian university students
Abstract
Introduction: The rejection of our own body image can lead to serious health problems such as anorexia or bulimia nervosa, especially among young population. Objective: To apply an edu-entertainment strategy to improve the body image of young people from the center of the Ecuadorian highlands. Methodology: A questionnaire about the degree of acceptance of body image (real BMI vs ideal BMI) was handed out to 788 university students. Half of them previously took part in a literary strategy consisting of writing in pairs a short story related to anorexia or bulimia nervosa. Results: The control group has a worse physical image of themselves compared to the experimental group. Participants evaluated the literary dynamics as quite entertaining and educational. There is no relation between the degree of acceptance of body image and identification with the story, but there is a relation between this acceptance and the number of close people with this type of eating disorders, as well as the assessment of their own diet and feeling comfortable with their own body. Conclusion: The dynamics used can be useful as part of health communication interventions in order to solve these problems.
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