Reviewer’s report
Title: 
Are there associations between religious affiliation and drive for
muscularity? A cross-sectional survey of young Muslim women, Christian
women and atheist women from Germany
Version: 
0 
Date: 
20 Sep 2020
Reviewer: 
George Jennings
Reviewer's report:
Dear authors,
It was a pleasure to read your detailed and informative article, which is certainly
appropriate for BMC Women's Health. The article is generally well written,
clearly structured and very focuses around an exam theme and research question.
I have several recommendations in order to improve specific elements of the
paper:
- The title is quite lengthy, and could benefit from a subtitle mentioning the
context (Germany) and the age group (young women)
- The abstract and introduction should consider that this study is in Germany,
and some demographic information on Muslim women in this country should
also be noted. Is the dominant group from Turkey? What other minority groups
tend to be Muslims? Might there be differences between Shia and Shiite
Muslims
- What does the Quran have to say about staying fit and healthy? Are there
explicit writings on exercise or sport/games?
- Has the general research on women, exercise and body image been on white
females? 
- Why are you using the term 'sport' when you might be dealing more with
exercise and physical activity? This is arguably more accessible and private for
women, especially during the pandemic. Sometimes sport is conflated with terms
such as 'physical exercise' (page 3).
- Terms such as Hijab, Chador and veil should be explained - perhaps in a table
or using some kind of illustration
- Did the authors consider how some of the general questions around body ideals
might be interpreted to include ideals of the muscular male body? For example,
"I think the best bodies are well toned." 
In the Results, could country of origin have an influence? How long the women
have been living in Germany? If they are first, second or third generation
Muslim Germans? 
- The qualitative research is explained in one sentence, but the authors need to
add more detail about the findings of the studies and their contexts
A minor English language check is required for small errors with missing articles
and third person verb conjugations (e.g. the last word of the article).
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Is the study design appropriate to answer the research question (including the use
of appropriate controls), and are the conclusions supported by the evidence
presented?
Yes
Are the methods sufficiently described to allow the study to be repeated?
Yes
Is the use of statistics and treatment of uncertainties appropriate?
Yes
Is the presentation of the work clear?
Yes
Are the images in this manuscript (including electrophoretic gels and blots) free
from apparent manipulation?
Yes