Are You Satisfied With Your Body?

A new study examines how magazines full of model-perfect bodies really make us feel about our own less-than-perfect physiques.
By Denise Mann

March 18, 2011 -- When you flip through a glossy beauty or fitnessmagazine, how much time do you spend starring at the models?

The answer may depend on how you feel about your own physique and whether or not these photos are accompanied by articles detailing how you too can achieve six-pack abs or slim, sleek thighs, according to a study published in Media Psychology.

In the study, 169 people recruited from a large Midwestern university filled out surveys that asked about their body image. Participants then evaluated two 21-paged magazines on a computer.

Both magazines included 16 pages of ads; half featured models with ideal attributes and the other half featured models with more average shapes. Men looked at magazines with male images and women only looked at female images.

Body Shape Satisfaction

Those people who were not satisfied with their body shape and size spent 50% more time looking at models with ideal bodies when these images were accompanying articles about diet and fitness, compared to similar images surrounded by non-self-improvement related articles: 59 seconds vs. 40 seconds, respectively.

“If the articles inspired them to go on a diet or start an exercise program, they would spend more time looking at the ideal bodies,” says study researcher Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, PhD, an associate professor of communication at Ohio State University in Columbus, in a news release. “If the articles gave them no inspiration, they tended to avoid the photos.”....Click to read more at WebMD