Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Health-Related Behaviors Among Male and Female First Year College Students

Journal of College Student Development, Nov/Dec 2005 by Lowery, Sarah E, Kurpius, Sharon E Robinson, Befort, Christie, Blanks, Elva Hull, Et al

When only the men and women who reported that they exercised regularly were compared, women still exhibited a more negative body image, particularly body surveillance and self-ideal discrepancy. In addition, women who regularly exercised did not have a more positive body image than women who did not regularly exercise. It is possible that women who exercise regularly may be working out primarily to feel more physically attractive and to increase their perceptions of others viewing their bodies more positively, however, exercising does not appear to make them feel any better about their bodies. While men probably work out for similar reasons stemming from the desire to be physically attractive, they are not faced with the extensive physical ideals of thinness that women must endure. For women, working out may be one piece of a long list of restrictions that may include dieting, avoiding certain foods, and avoiding certain types of clothing. With all the restrictions, being physically active may seem like just one more punishment for not being thin enough. This conclusion is supported by McDonald and Thompson (1992) who reported that women exercised for more weight-related reasons than did men. Similarly, Parsons and Betz (2001) examined the relationship of participation in sports and physical activity with body objectification (as measured by the OBC) for women and found that the variable most consistently related to sports and physical activity was body shame, the degree of potential shame if one does not fulfill cultural expectations for the female body.

In contrast, it may be that men who exercise are trying to gain weight and be more muscular. With the emphasis on becoming larger, working out may be less of a punishment and more of confidence building experience. Unlike the women who are trying to make themselves smaller and less noticeable (in order to be noticed), men are working to become larger, more prominent, and to remain healthy. Conversely, women, instead of congratulating themselves for working to stay physically healthy, often think that they should still be thinner and that if they exercised just a few hours more per week they could attain the physical ideal they so desire and be noticed more positively by others.

All women, whether or not they regularly exercise, still struggled with body image concerns. In addition, regular exercise did not correlate with higher self-esteem in this sample of women. However, self-esteem was positively related to health-related behaviors in general. The more positive their health-related behaviors, the higher their self-esteem and their body control. This relationship was also found for men. When these students were taking care of themselves, both physically and psychologically, they felt better about themselves as people and believed they were exerting appropriate control over their bodies.

It was surprising that for both men and women, stronger beliefs in personal control over one's appearance were related to higher self-esteem and positive health behaviors. The body control scale was designed to reflect an internalized cultural ideal by measuring the extent to which a person believes that she or he can look thin and attractive with enough effort. In this study, however, participants' responses to statements such as "A large part of being in shape is having that kind of body in the first place," and "I can weigh what I'm supposed to when I try hard enough" indicated a positive view of control, as it was associated with a higher self-esteem and more positive physical behaviors for both men and women. Perhaps the extreme focus on the positive aspects of being in control in this society influenced their responses. They may have overlooked the physical and social implications of the phrase "supposed to" and thought that it would be best to fit themselves into a mold. Students may also have viewed some of the statements suggesting that they may not have power to change their bodies, due to reasons such as heredity, as negative due to the lack of control implied. Further understanding of how control beliefs influence body image is vital to understanding factors that influence body image dissatisfaction and more severe problems such as eating disturbance.