Presenter: Kevin Le – Human Physiology
Faculty Mentor(s): Claire Guidinger, Nichole Kelly
Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation
Asian and Asian American men report high rates of disordered eating symptoms, such as body dissatisfaction. Some have hypothesized that these behaviors are a consequence of being stereotyped as petite, more feminine, and less attractive that their non-Asian peers. However, this theoretical and empirical research fails to recognize that there are substantial ethnic variations in both body sizes and cultural ideals among diverse Asian/Asian American populations. This study aimed to identify and clarify potential ethnic variations in Asian/Asian American men’s disordered eating symptoms. 179 Asian/Asian American men (18-30y; Mage=24.03±3.6) completed an online study that included measures of ethnic identity; height and weight; LOC eating (0 = absent, 1 = present); dieting; excessive exercise; body image concerns; and drive for muscularity. Ethnic subgroups included men who self-identified as Chinese (n = 59), Filipino (n = 33), Korean (n = 21), Vietnamese (n = 25), and Indian (n = 41). One-way ANOVAS indicated Asian ethnic subgroups only significantly differed in concerns with muscularity [F(4, 174) = 2.65, p<.05]. Post Hoc findings indicated that Filipino men endorsed significantly higher muscularity concerns compared to Vietnamese men, p<.05. Future research should seek to identify cultural factors that function as both risk and protective factors for disordered eating cognitions and behaviors in Filipino men, as well as other groups of Asian/Asian American men.