RecruitingACTRN12624001190594

Evaluation of the Body Project in New Zealand

Evaluation of the impact of the Body Project on dieting behaviours and dietary intake, and experience of participation in New Zealand university students, peer educators and counsellors.

Sponsor

Massey University

Enrollment

80 participants

Start Date

Sep 9, 2024

Study Type

Interventional

Conditions

body dissatisfaction

Summary

The Body Project is a programme that has been designed to prevent eating disorder development in young females with body dissatisfaction by reducing thin idealisation. This study will implement and evaluate the Body Project in the New Zealand tertiary environment, by recruiting females aged 18 -30 years that are enrolled at Massey University. University counsellors will train student peer educators to run the sessions and participants will be randomised to 4 sessions of the Body Project or a control group directed to watch a documentary. Before the first and after the last session, participants will be asked to complete a series of online surveys to measure changes in body dissatisfaction, psychosocial functioning, quality of life and service utilisation. Participants, peer educators and counsellors will then be invited to take part in an interview to discuss their experience in participating in the Body Project, their perceptions of the programme, and its value.

Eligibility

Sex: FemalesMin Age: 18 YearssMax Age: 30 Yearss

Plain Language Summary

Simplified for easier understanding

Body image concerns and the pressure to be thin affect many young women, and for some this can develop into an eating disorder. The Body Project is an evidence-based program that has been shown to reduce these pressures by encouraging young women to critically examine and challenge the societal 'thin ideal.' This study is testing the program at Massey University in New Zealand, where it will be run by trained student peer educators. Female students aged 18 to 30 with body image concerns will be randomly assigned to either participate in four group sessions of the Body Project or watch a documentary. Before and after the sessions, participants will complete surveys measuring body dissatisfaction, emotional wellbeing, and quality of life. Participants and facilitators will also be invited to share their experiences in interviews. You may be eligible if you identify as female, are 18 to 30 years old, are enrolled at Massey University, and have body image concerns. Women currently receiving treatment for a diagnosed eating disorder are not eligible. This program works not by telling people they need to change their body, but by building the confidence to push back against unrealistic beauty standards.

This summary was AI-generated to explain the trial in plain language. It is not medical advice. Always discuss eligibility with your doctor before enrolling in a clinical trial.

Interested in this trial?

Get notified about updates and connect with the research team.

Interventions

The Body Project (developed by Eric Stice, Paul Rohde & Heather Shaw) delivered in synchronous group format online over 4 consecutive weeks by peer educators. Peer educators are Massey University Hea

The Body Project (developed by Eric Stice, Paul Rohde & Heather Shaw) delivered in synchronous group format online over 4 consecutive weeks by peer educators. Peer educators are Massey University Health Science students who have undergone Body Project training with Massey University Health & Counselling counselors who have themselves undergone Body Project training with Eric Stice. The Body Project is a programme that has been designed to prevent eating disorder development by targeting young females with known risk factors, such as body dissatisfaction. It specifically aims to reduce thin idealisation by challenging them to reduce the pursuit for this unrealistic ideal. The Body Project is run over 4 weeks in weekly 1-hour online sessions. Session 1 topics are introduction, voluntary commitment and overview, definition and origin of the thin ideal, costs associated with the thin ideal and homework. Session 2 topics are reinforcing voluntary commitment, letter to adolescent girl exercise debriefing, mirror exercise debriefing, role plays to discourage the pursuit of thin ideal and homework. Session 3 topics are reinforcing voluntary commitment, community interview debriefing, role play on disrupting thin ideal statements, reasons for signing up, behavioural challenge, top 10 list debriefing and homework. Session 4 topics are reinforcing voluntary commitment, behavioural challenge debriefing, body activism debriefing, letter to a younger self debriefing, discussion of benefits of group and closure, self-affirmation exercise, homework and closure. Participants complete a consent form and questionnaire including the outcome measures prior to the first session. Following the intervention, they are requested to complete the questionnaire again and invited to participate in a 30-minute semi-structured depth interview with a member of the research team. Interviews will be audio recorded. All intervention sessions are video/audio recorded to enable fidelity rating and attendance check. For inclusion in the evaluation, participants are required to attend at least one of the weekly online sessions. Participants are provided with weekly homework estimated to take up to 30 minutes to complete, but inclusion in the evaluation won't be dependent on homework completion.

Locations(1)

New Zealand

View Full Details on ANZCTR

For the most up-to-date information, visit the official listing.

Visit

ACTRN12624001190594