Women Less Concerned About Weight Than Men

New York: Women today appear to be accepting their bodies more than in the past, especially regarding weight, than men, according to a new research.

Body dissatisfaction is not only a common predictor of eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and binge eating, but also can play a role in the development of depression. Men, however, reported more body dissatisfaction than women when it came to muscularity but, over time, levels remained relatively consistent for both men and women.

The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of more than 250 studies representing 100,228 participants to analyse trends in how people felt about their bodies, specifically in regard to weight.

They found that while women consistently were more dissatisfied than men their dissatisfaction gradually declined over time. However, dissatisfaction among men remained relatively constant throughout.

The researchers conducted a similar meta-analysis, this time focusing on muscle size. They analysed 81 studies representing more than 23,000 participants over a 14-year span.

Body image issues among men are not always about thinness but mostly related to musculature, the researchers suggested.

IANS