Background/Purpose Men experience social pressures to attain idealized muscular physiques (e.g., Oehlhof et al., 2009). Such social ideals can influence how men feel about their bodies, as well as their eating attitudes and exercise behaviors. The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between college men's body surveillance, body shame, appearance anxiety, eating attitudes, and exercise attitudes and behaviors.
Method Participants included 98 undergraduate college men (M age = 22.24, SD = 3.47) with an average BMI of 26.63 (SD = 4.08). Participants completed a demographic survey, Body Surveillance (BSurv) and Body Shame (BShame) subscales of the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (McKinley & Hyde, 1996), Appearance Anxiety Scale (AA; Dion et al., 1990), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26; Garner et al., 1982), Exercise Dependence Scale (EDS; Hausenblas & Downs, 2002), and self-reported physical activity (Jackson et al., 2007).
Analysis/Results EAT-26 total scores were positively associated with BSurv (r = .43), BShame (r = .44), and AAS (r = .58) scores. Total EDS scores were not significantly related to psychosocial variables; however Tolerance EDS subscale scores were negatively associated with BSurv (r = -.26), BShame (r = -.28), and AA (r = -.34) scores. Physical activity was negatively related to BShame (r = -.27), and AAS (r = -.31) scores.
Conclusions Men with high levels of concern regarding their bodies may be at risk for disturbed eating and inactivity. Interestingly, even though physical activity might be used to attain a muscular body, men with body concerns may avoid activity.
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