The Effect of the Media on Body Satisfaction: the Role of Gender and Size

Media images of stereotypically attractive women are often cited as contributory factors in body size distortion and body dissatisfaction. In fact, recent research suggests that acute exposure to such images may exacerbate body distortion in women with eating disorders. The present study examined the effects of acute exposure to images of stereotypical attraction (thin pictures) compared to images of overweight individuals (fat pictures) in both men and women. Twenty men and 20 women completed measures of body satisfaction before and after viewing images of either thin or overweight individuals matched for the subject's gender. The results suggested that subjects of both gender reported feeling less satisfied with their bodies as measured by rating scales (e.g. feeling fat, feeling attractive), body silhouettes and body size estimation, after viewing the thin pictures and showed improved body satisfaction after viewing the overweight pictures. The results also suggested that this response was greater in the female than in the male subjects for some of the measures (e.g. feeling fat, feeling toned) and was unrelated to levels of restrained eating. The results are discussed in terms of the role of the media in determining body image and the possible use of such images in clinical practice.

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