Among the females, the ideal body shape was
smaller than their perception of current body shape. The
DEBQ scores for restrained, emotional, and external eating
were higher in the females than the males among the
normal-weight participants, and among the underweight
participants, the restrained eating and external eating
scores were higher in the females than the males.
Restrained eating was negatively associated with the discrepancy
between the current and ideal weight, BMI, and
body shape in both the males and females. Emotional
eating was negatively associated with the discrepancy in
current/ideal BMI and body shape only in the females.
Conclusions At least in Japanese university students, the
gender differences in ideal body shape are related to eating
behavior.