Influence of Media on Body Image for Fitness Center Users

ABSTRACT

Mass media influences one’s body esteem, and images seen in the media may lead to unhealthy behaviors to achieve an ideal body. Body esteem may be shaped by one’s ethnicity, gender, and age, as well. Media image and body satisfaction have been investigated in the context of ethnicity, as illustrated by studies comparing Caucasian and African American women. However, research has not looked at the relationship of these issues specifically for an American Indian population. The present study investigated the relationship of media influence and body dissatisfaction (or negative body esteem) for American Indian members of a fitness center in rural, southeastern North Carolina through use of the Body Esteem Scale (BES) and the Sociocultural Attitudes towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3). Within this group of participants, gender and age were examined as they relate to body esteem and media influence. Hypothesis testing revealed that men had higher body esteem than women. Additionally, for the sample population there was a weak negative correlation between body esteem and media image.

KEYWORDS:

• Sociocultural
• diversity
• body esteem
• body dissatisfaction
• media influence
• ethnicity
• American Indians

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.