Gender Differences In Body Image: Body Satisfaction and The Desire to Lose Weight
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.665Keywords:
gender, body image, weight, body dissatisfactionAbstract
Previous research on body image issues has examined the relationship between body dissatisfaction and the desire to lose weight. However, less research has focused on how these negative components of body image may differ by gender, independent of sociocultural factors (e.g, religion, education, social class). Therefore, the present study assessed gender differences in body dissatisfaction and the desire to lose weight. It was hypothesized that women would report both higher body dissatisfaction and desire to lose weight than men. Participants (n = 85) were recruited via snowball and convenience sampling. Participants completed questionnaires about their desire to lose weight, body satisfaction, and demographics. The results did not show a statistically significant difference for desire to lose weight between genders; however, women reported higher body dissatisfaction than men. These findings provide insight on how negative body image perceptions may differ between genders. Such understanding can inform exploring methods to combat negative body image for all genders.
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