Scientists have found that body image is first
formed as an infant during contact, or lack of contact,
with people such as parents and family members. Personal
contacts in the form of hugs, kisses, and other
forms of affection can help develop an early positive
body image. Lack of such contact, can have the opposite
effect, forming an early negative body image.
The purpose of body image is generally used as a
way for individuals to compare themselves against a
model (ideal) image and for people to compare others
through physical traits and characteristics. It is usually
measured against an ideal body shape with respect to
various physical characterizations such as facial features
and overall body weight of the human body
including fatness and muscle mass.
Within the field of psychoanalysis, a person’s
body image is often measured by asking a person to
rate parts of his/her current body (such as face, stomach,
and buttocks) with respect to a series of pictures
representing an ideal body image. The difference in
rating between a person’s current body image and a
perceived idea body image is generally considered the
amount a person is dissatisfied with their body.
Concern with body image is generally more
important with women than it is with men. Women
usually are more critical of their overall body and
individual parts of their body than are men. However,
the gap between the two genders has been narrowing
over recent years as men become more concerned with
their body image.
A perception of a poor body image often relates
with a feeling of being overweight, especially with
women. Men, on the other hand, desire more muscle
mass when considering their body image. Their feeling
to be more masculine parallels this desire to add additional
muscle mass and to produce more definition in
their current muscles.
Generally, a poor body image can lead to constant
and fad dieting, obesity, and eating disorders, along
with low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and overall
emotional distress. However, for the most part, people
with good exercise habits, positive personal and sexual
experiences, and excellent emotional and mental states
have better and more accurate perceptions of their
body image than people without those characteristics
and experiences. These people also have fewer problems
associated with a poor body image.
Exaggerated and distorted concerns with body
image have been linked in medical studies with
decreases in self esteem and increases in dieting and
eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, binge
eating disorder, and bulimia. People with body
image problems can also have a condition called
body dysmorphic disorder, which involves a distorted
body image without any eating disorders. Excessive
preoccupation with body image and an exaggerated
obsession on positive body image has, in the past, been
associated with the personality disorder called narcissism
(self-admiration, or an overestimation about
one’s appearance).
Body image can be affected by outside influences.
Media sources, such as television, the Internet, and
magazines, often portray people closer to the commonly
accepted ideal body type than the average
body image in order to sell their products and services.
Consequently, people, especially older children and
young adults, are overly influenced and swayed by
such depictions of body image. For instance, according
to Association Body Image for Disordered Eating
(ABIDE), the average U.S. citizen was exposed to
about 5,000 advertising messages each and every day
in 2003. Studies of network television commercials
have shown that attractiveness is a desirable trait
that advertisers regularly use to convince viewers to
purchase their products.
Family life can also affect a person’s perception of
their body image. Parents that criticize their children,
such as in the way they look, talk, or act, often may
have a negative effect on the development of selfesteem
in their offspring.
Young people may also be affected by the comments
of classmates and peers when it comes to their
body image. Teasing is often a method used by young
people to convey negative comments and hurtful
words. Teasing can come in a form of being too
small or too large; too smart or too dumb; too popular
or not very popular; and any of a number of other characterizations. Racial, sexual, and other types of
teasing are mores serious and can have a negative
impact on body image and self-esteem. Children
often try to pressure their peers to conform to what
is currently popular in clothing styles, language, and
other characteristics—all that can potentially hurt
one’s perception of their body image.
