102 Body Dissatisfaction
attractiveness, upper-body strength, and physical condition; and report a
preferred size which is different to their perceived shape (Franzoi and Shields,
1984, Klesges, Mizes, and Klesges, 1987; Rozin and Fallon, 1988; Brodie,
Slade, and Riley, 1991; Jeffrey, Adlis, and Forster, 1991).
Research has also explored which body parts generate body dissatisfac-
tion in men. Furnham and Greaves (1994) asked 47 British men to rate a
series of body parts and concluded that the men were most dissatisfied with
their biceps, width of shoulders, and chest. Ogden and Taylor (2000) used
real photographs and reported that in general men would prefer their arms,
chests, and shoulders to be larger and their stomachs and overall body to
be smaller. Therefore, some men do show body dissatisfaction, particularly
with their arms, shoulders, chests, and stomachs.
AgeMost research exploring body dissatisfaction has focused on young student
populations. However, some studies have examined body dissatisfaction in
children. For example, Tiggemann and Pennington (1990) asked girls aged
9 to rate age-appropriate silhouettes and concluded that many rated their
ideal as thinner than their perceptions of how they actually looked.
Similarly, Hill, Oliver, and Rogers (1992) and Grogan and Wainwright (1996)
reported body dissatisfaction in girls aged 9 and 8 respectively. Some
research has also explored body dissatisfaction in young boys and has shown
that although young boys are more satisfied with the way they look than
girls, 13-year-old boys show the beginnings of concerns about their bodies
(Conner et al., 1996). Across the age spectrum, Pliner, Chaiken, and Flett
(1990) asked women ranging in age from 10 to 79 to rate their “appearance
self esteem.” The results showed no age effects, and the authors concluded
that women over 60 were just as concerned as young adults and adolescents.
Similarly, Lamb et al. (1993) asked men and women across the life span
to rate their body dissatisfaction and reported that older and younger women
and older men would prefer to be thinner. Only the younger men were
relatively satisfied with their body size. They also concluded that although
both the older women and men wanted to be thinner they preferred larger
body sizes than their younger counterparts. This may reflect a more realistic
ideal body or it could be illustrative of a cohort effect, with these individuals
having been exposed to larger role models in their youth. It would therefore
seem that body dissatisfaction is not just a characteristic of young women;
it is also present in males and females across the life span.