Men’s Body Image

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What is body image?

The definition of body image has evolved over the past 70 years. It is hard to give it an exact definition of “body image” as it can mean something different to everyone. The term generally encompasses stereotypical assumptions about how someone sees themselves and how they think others perceive them¹. This mental image of how you view yourself can affect how you behave². Body image differs from body weight, with negative body image often resulting from social pressures to fit into the “norm”, leading to self concept³.

Worryingly, self-worth has been linked to body image, and can have detrimental effects on emotional health⁴.

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Men’s Body Image

In men, body image is driven by the ideal body which men often feel a pressure to fit into, this is a mesomorphic build⁵, muscular and defined with low body fat⁵. Men also experience a pressure to appear “masculine”³, and to not talk about their emotions³, contributing to a negative body image.

Occurrence

In November 2019 The Mental Health Foundation conducted a survey and concluded that millions of men in the UK have been troubled due to body image issues⁶. As a result, 3 in 10 adult (18+) men (28%) said that they had felt anxious. Furthermore, in the last year 1 in 5 men (22%) reported they had adversely contrasted themselves to other men due to issues regarding their body image⁶.

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Potential aspects contributing to negative body image

While an internal queue associated with negative body image is body fat dissatisfaction⁷, there is a huge body of research showing the effect of various external queues on negative body image. Societal pressures, including a burden to adhere to traditional gender roles, have consistently been found to influence body image³. For example, muscle dysmorphia in men has been linked to pressures to be masculine⁸.

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The media has been identified as a considerable factor contributing to negative body image, including body dissatisfaction, psychological disorders and behavioural outcomes⁹.

Furthermore, playing realistic, deeply engaging video games with muscular characters¹⁰ and reading sports magazines, which place an importance on achieving a muscular physique, have also been linked to negative body image in men¹¹.

Conversely, research finds that partners can have a beneficial effect on body image. Across a range of body weights, companions are generally supportive of their partners’ body size; putting more emphasis on maintaining a healthy weight than achieving an idealised male physique¹².

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The future and advice

It is a priority to raise awareness on the importance of men’s body image. Hala El-Shafie, the founder of Nutrition Rocks, recently spoke with Nick Ede on imposter syndrome - check out our instagram page @Nutrition_Rocks to listen to the whole conversation.

If you feel that you suffer with negative body image, here are some places you can seek advice¹³ -

Talk to friends and family, this can help reduce stress.

As a concerned friend or family member, talk to the person struggling in a safe place.

Cleanse your social media feed. Take some time to go through social media and unfollow anyone who negatively affects your body image.

Try your best to incorporate physical activity into your routine - this can help decrease stress and improve your mood¹⁴.

Want to help? A way to reduce poor body image is effective regulation on social media of how body image is portrayed - read this article on our current petition to help regulate nutrition information on social media and sign the petition.

Lina BenjellounComment