RESOURCES

Researchers have used a variety of different techniques to study body satisfaction and have concluded that most women in Western cultures are dissatisfied with their body weight and image. In summary:

• Most women are dissatisfied with their bodies, particularly their stomach, hips and thighs.
• Most would choose to be thinner than they currently are.
• Questionnaires, interviews and body size estimation techniques have found a similar pattern of dissatisfaction in British, American and Australian women.
• Feminist approaches to understanding women’s dissatisfaction suggest that social pressure on women to strive for the slender, ‘toned’ body shape that is associated with youth, control and success encourages the objectification of the body and the disproportionate allocation of energies to body maintenance.

It has recently become fashionable to exercise (rather than to diet) to try and attain the slim ideal and to reduce body dissatisfaction. However, some authors have suggested that frequent exercise can actually increase body dissatisfaction rather than reducing it.

Research has suggested that frequent exercisers are at risk for body dissatisfaction, body preoccupation and eating disorders. It has long been known that professional sportswomen in sports where thinness confers a performance or aesthetic advantage (such as dancers and gymnasts) tend to be highly preoccupied with their weight (Brownell et al. 1992). Katz (1988) proposes that a high level of physical exercise may be a predisposing factor for eating disorders in women who have other predisposing factors (e.g. doubts about their self-control). Many studies have shown that women who exercise frequently are more preoccupied with their weight than non-exercising women (Katz, 1986). Studies by Caroline Davis and colleagues have shown positive correlations between weight and diet concern and physical activity levels in groups of women who frequently engage in exercise, leading the authors to argue that frequent exercise may cause body dissatisfaction. This argument is problematic, since they have no way of knowing whether women who are frequent exercisers started off (before exercise) feeling satisfied and have become less satisfied; or whether they were dissatisfied before the exercise regime (which could have been the motivation for taking up exercise in the first place).

Despite evidence that compulsive exercise can lead to body dissatisfaction, there is a growing body of evidence that shows that moderate exercise, focusing on mastery rather than aesthetics, can improve perceptions of self-esteem and satisfaction with the body, as well as improvements in health and fitness. It is important to consider the effects of exercise here, since several researchers have suggested that moderate exercise improves mood, well-being and perception of control, at least in the short-term (Brown and Lawton, 1986), and there is a large body of evidence suggesting that exercise improves body satisfaction.

Adrian Furnham and colleagues (1994) looked at self-perception in women classified as ‘exercisers’ (netball players, rowers and body-builders) and ‘non-exercisers’ (those who exercise less than three times a week). They found that the exercisers rated themselves as more attractive, confident, healthy and popular, and had significantly higher body satisfaction scores, than non-exercisers, despite being significantly heavier than the non-exercising group. In a United States study (Koff and Bauman, 1997), 140 college women participating in one of three types of physical education classes (wellness, fitness, sports skills) responded to questions about body image, body-self relations, and lifestyle behaviours at the onset and conclusion of a six-week programme.

It seems likely that exercise enhances self-esteem and body image by producing a firmer and stronger body, by giving the person a sense of competence. Therefore, given the relatively low levels of exercise being currently undertaken by adults and children, it is important to know what barriers to exercise are perceived by women.

Women are less likely than men (women 38% and men 24%) to participate in sport and may reject some activities because they do not consider themselves as the ‘sporty type’(Allied Dunbar National Fitness Survey, 1992). Promoting activities such as walking, cycling, swimming, Pilates, yoga and other exercise classes may be important in encouraging women to take more exercise.

Women’s traditional role as carers, particularly in the 16-34 age range (women 31% and men 15%) limits the time available to participate in certain types of physical activity. Promoting home-based activities such as doing the housework in a energetic block, using exercise videos, creating a home-based exercise regime or simply by taking a brisk walk rather than using a car will help to make exercise opportunities more readily available.

When Gail Huon (1988) asked young women to identify strategies for developing a more positive body image, one of their suggestions was that girls and young women should be encouraged to take up enjoyable sporting activities in their leisure time. Studies reviewed here suggest that moderate exercise, along with improvement in self-esteem and perceptions of control, are likely to be the most effective ways to improve body image in women.