Body Dissatisfaction 101a discrepancy between their real and ideal weight, have actively dieted
during the past 6 months, participate in organized weight loss programs,
prefer to be thinner, and engage in both safe and dangerous food restriction
strategies (Klesges, Mizes, and Klesges, 1987; Rozin and Fallon, 1988; Brodie,
Slade, and Riley, 1991; Jeffrey, Adlis, and Forster, 1991). This research also
shows that women are more likely to show these aspects of body dissatis-
faction than men.
Research has also explored which parts of their body women are dis-
satisfied with. For example, Furnham and Greaves (1994) asked 55 British
women to rate a range of body parts and reported that women were most
dissatisfied with their thighs, buttocks, and hips. Lee et al. (1996) carried
out a similar study and reported that women were most unhappy with the
appearance of their stomach, waist, hips, and thighs. A US-based survey
of readers of Psychology Todaymagazine showed that 55 percent of women
were dissatisfied with their weight, 57 percent were dissatisfied with their
mid-torso, 50 percent with their lower torso, 45 percent with their muscle tone,
and 32 percent with their upper torso (Cash, Winstead, and Janda, 1986).
Ogden and Taylor (2000) also examined women’s dissatisfaction with body
parts using computer-manipulated photographs from magazines and concluded
that women would prefer their chests to be larger and their legs, stomachs,
bottoms, and overall body shape to be smaller. The majority of women seem
to show body dissatisfaction, particularly with their stomach, hips, thighs,
and bottoms. They show greater dissatisfaction than men; and such gender
differences are apparent in children aged 12 to 13 years (Wardle and
Beales, 1986) and even as young as 9 years (Hill, Draper, and Stack, 1994).
MenWhen compared to women, men’s body satisfaction appears to be high,
but men also show body dissatisfaction. For example, Mishkind et al. (1986)
asked men to rate a series of body silhouettes ranging from thin to fat and
found that 75 percent reported a discrepancy between their ideal and their
actual size, with about half wanting to be bigger and half wanting to be
thinner. Likewise, Cash, Winstead, and Janda (1986) concluded from their
survey that 34 percent of men were dissatisfied with the way they looked
and that 41 percent were dissatisfied with their weight. Similarly, Mishkind
concluded that 95 percent of American male college students showed
body dissatisfaction. Overall, research indicates that some men do diet; are
aware of cultural norms of male attractiveness; are concerned with physical