chapter 9

1. chapter9 Body Image

2. Body Image • Body image refers to the mental image we have of our physical appearance. • Many factors influence body image including: • how much we weigh, • how our weight is distributed, • our values about physical appearance, • our concepts of a good physical appearance, • our ethnic and cultural background, • what we see in others around us, • what we hear through the media, and • what we hear from others.

3. Unrealistic Expectations • A survey found that 89% of women polled wanted to lose weight, while 22% of men wanted to gain weight. Only 29% of the women interviewed were overweight. • In another study, girls in grades 5 though 12 said they wanted to lose weight because of the pictures in magazines.

4. Why Models Look So Perfect • Movie stars may spend months working with a personal trainer and controlling their diets to “sculpt” their bodies before shooting begins. • Clothes, makeup, and lighting are carefully chosen to create the desired image. • Playboy magazine regularly slims models’ waists and thighs before publishing photos. • After the photo or film is taken, editing refines the image to make it perfect.

5. College Students and Body Image The result of these influences is that 85% of first-year male and female college students desire to change their body weight (Williams, 1996). Fully 40% of adult men and 55% of adult women are dissatisfied with their body weight.

6. Cultural Influences • When a large number of adolescent Caucasian, Latino, and African American males and females were studied, Caucasians reported a much higher percentage of body-image concerns. Latino and African American participants did not differ significantly from each other (Barry and Grilo, 2002). • Poor peer socialization and family rigidity help create preoccupation with body size, slimness. • Other studies of ethnic women show that socioeconomic differences may be important determinants in body-image perception.

7. Diet • The diet industry in the United States relishes these attitudes about weight and body image. • At any given time 48 million adult Americans, including 60% of adult women, are on a diet. • Relatively few people have long-term success controlling their weight. • We spend over $36 billion annually on diet products.

8. Bottom Line Long-term weight control is a function of a permanent change in one’s eating habits and incorporating physical activity into one’s lifestyle.

9. Value of Exercise • When people try to lose weight by diet alone, they are less successful than when they try to lose weight by exercise alone. • The most successful strategy combines diet and exercise. • Exercise also helps tone muscles so that appearance is enhanced even if the scale shows no weight loss.

10. Value of Exercise continued • Moderate exercise decreases appetite. • Muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain itself than fat tissue does. • As a result, resting metabolic rate, which accounts for approximately 70% of the calories we burn, increases, and greater weight loss occurs.

11. Anorexia Nervosa • Anorexia nervosa is a condition in which an individual severely limits caloric intake. • Anorexia nervosa is sometimes described as self-induced starvation. • Most people with anorexia are White females under 25 years of age. • Some people may feel that their weight is the only factor they can control in a world in which expectations of others seem difficult to fulfill.

12. Bulimia Nervosa • Bulimia nervosa is a condition in which a person periodically eats a lot of food and then purges the food through vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, and exercise. • Bulimics tend to be older than anorexics. • Approximately 2% of the population is bulimic, with 95% of those being female.

13. Muscle Dysmorphia • Muscle dysmorphia refers to body builders who, despite their muscular bodies and high fitness levels, consider themselves puny. • Muscle dysmorphia is sometimes called “reverse anorexia.” • When the quest for massive size overtakes one’s life, career, and relationships, self-esteem, ironically, can also suffer. • As many as 10% of male bodybuilders and 84% of female bodybuilders may suffer from muscle dysmorphia.

14. Side Effects of Steroid Use—Women • Lower voice • Increased body and facial hair • Male-pattern baldness • Enlarged clitoris • Decreased breast size • Changes in or cessation of menstruation

15. Side Effects of Steroid Use—Men • Testicular shrinkage • Impotence • Infertility • Baldness • Prostate cancer • Development of breasts • Difficulty or pain in urinating

16. Side Effects of Steroid Use—Women and Men • Liver malfunction • Kidney disorders • Increased serum cholesterol levels • A cessation of growth and bone development • Aggression and violence • Depression

17. Liposuction • Liposuction is a technique for removing adipose (fat) tissue with a suction-pump device. A hollow suction tube attached to a special vacuum is inserted in small incisions in the skin. • Liposuction is primarily used to remove fat around the abdomen, breasts, legs, face, and upper arms. • It is the most popular cosmetic surgery in the United States. • Liposuction costs between $1,600 and $2,500 for a single body location.

18. Breast Implants • In recent years concerns have developed that implants can cause systemic disease and that the implants can rupture or fail. • Although most researchers agree that implants are not the culprit described in the media, implant manufacturers have settled law suits from women implant users. • In a culture that focuses extreme attention on the female breast, it is no wonder that some women are willing to undergo these procedures.

19. Myths and Facts • Myth—Most Americans are satisfied with their bodies. • Fact—Various studies have found Americans to be highly dissatisfied with their bodies. • Myth—Exercise may use up calories and be good for losing weight, but it increases your appetite. Therefore, the best way to lose weight is by dieting. • Fact—Studies have shown that the best way to lose weight is through a combination of diet and exercise. Exercise alone is a more effective weight loss method than is dieting alone. One reason for that is that exercise decreases one’s appetite.