Message of the day: 15th January 2015

Body image dissatisfaction among males

Most of the past research has focused on body image dissatisfaction among women, but are body image concerns exclusive to women? In a recent review of the scientific literature McCabe and Ricciardelli (2004) clarified the extent to which previous studies have investigated these issues among men. They showed that body dissatisfaction is a significant concern for men as young as 6 years of age and it can sometimes lead to behaviours that require clinical interventions (e.g. poor psychological adjustment, eating disorders, steroid use, exercise dependence, as well as other health behaviors).

The review further discusses the lack of proper measures to investigate body image dissatisfaction in men, since most existing tools are suited to women. Furthermore, social expectations can be different between the genders (e.g.  magazines suggest that women should lose weight, while men should increase muscles size), and this needs to be taken into account when carrying out such investigations.

In conclusion, body dissatisfaction cannot simply been seen as a ‘female problem’.

On the bright side, organisations such as ‘National Eating Disorders’, a leading non-profit organisation in the United States advocating on behalf of and supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders, seem to have recognised the problem and have begun issuing guidelines specific to body image concerns in men.  It seems that research should follow their example and dedicate more resources to understanding and treating body dissatisfaction in men.

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Sources:

McCabe, M. P. & Ricciardelli, L. A. (2004). Body image dissatisfaction among males across the lifespan. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 56(6): 675-685.  DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3999(03)00129-6