Rate My Professor Angela Hinz

Dr Angela Hinz is a Lecturer in Psychology in the School of Health at the University of the Sunshine Coast, having joined the university in 2023. She earned her PhD in Psychology, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and Bachelor of Science in Sport and Exercise Science from the University of the Sunshine Coast. The primary focus of her doctoral research was the impact of idealised health and fitness media imagery on women’s body image, behaviour, and overall wellbeing, along with the development of strategies to foster healthy, inclusive messaging on social media and in physical activity communities both online and in person.

Hinz's research interests encompass body image interventions, body image in specific health populations, body image and physical activity, body image and nature, social media and health messaging, contemporary wellness culture, health and fitness communities on social media, and the health and wellbeing of mothers and women across the lifespan. Her specializations include women’s body image, body image trends on social media, appearance management, body image in health and fitness communities, and women’s health. She has collaborated on various research projects with university colleagues and partners such as local community groups and organizations, covering topics like eating disorder treatment, body image interventions, social media health and body image messaging, contemporary wellness culture, and women’s health support. Hinz acted as a consultant for the Embrace Collective on the development of ‘The Activate Playbook – A guide to building better body image in young people’s sport’ and ‘Activate Dance – Recommendations for building better body image in dance’. Key publications include ‘What is body neutrality and how is it different to existing body image concepts? An analysis of experts and general community responses’ (2024, with K.E. Mulgrew), ‘A hopeful future: a qualitative investigation of positive psychological functioning in young mothers’ (2024), ‘Looking Beyond Stigma and Depression: an Examination of Psychological Wellbeing in Young Mothers’ (2026, with K.E. Mulgrew), ‘Is this what a female yogi looks like? A content analysis of yoga images on Instagram’ (2021), and ‘Practice or performance? A content analysis of yoga-related videos on Instagram’ (2021). She contributes to the field as a member of the Editorial Board for the journal Body Image, CoRe-ED (The Consortium for Research in Eating Disorders), and ANZAED (Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders).