Influence of appearance based eating on socio-economic status among the women of south India

India is a country with vast regional differences in diet, lifestyle, urbanization and diabetes prevalence. As with any change, the process of embracing western culture is having both a positive and negative effect on society. Modernized societies prefer thinness and socially discriminate against obese individuals. Studies across the globe have identified that several factors such as age, gender, economic status, perceived media, and peer pressure are important in determining appearance management and eating behaviour among adolescents. 1775 General College girl students, Kerala, India belonging to varied regions as south, middle and north were selected at random for the study. The Appearance Schemas Inventory (ASI), EAT-26 and SES designed by Kuppuswamy were used as the tools for the study. Results of the study shows that significant difference prevails in appearance based eating on various regions and socio- economic status.