January 9, 2012
Apparently it's not just women asking 'Does my bum look big in this?' A recent study reveals four out of five men regularly fret about their body image, reports the UK's Daily Mail.
West England's University Centre for Appearance Research in Bristol quizzed 400 men aged 18 to 70 and found that instead of derriere dilemmas, the biggest body hang-ups for blokes were beer bellies, lack of muscle tone, 'moobs' (male breasts), and thinning head hair.
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The majority also felt personally affected by 'negative body talk'.
Comments such as 'look at his beer belly' and 'he's too fat to wear that' elicited miserable and insecure feelings, regardless if it was directed at them, because it reinforced their own hang-ups.
Dr Phillippa Diedrichs, of UWE, said: "Body talk is saying things which reinforce the traditional standard of male attractiveness, which is having a tall, lean, muscular body with clear skin and a full head of hair, and is for most people unattainable."
One in five straight men surveyed said they compared their physique to those of magazine models, athletes and movie stars, and one in four said they feel too self-conscious to go to the gym because of fears about their appearance.
The findings challenge traditional views that only women are affected by over-exposure to pictures of skinny and air-brushed celebrities.
"This research really demonstrates that body image is an issue for everyone, although in men, especially middle-aged men, it has been woefully under-reported, but has a negative impact on social relationships and on attitudes to diet, exercise and a healthy lifestyle, said Dr Diedrichs.
More than 35 percent of the men surveyed said they would sacrifice a year of life to achieve their ideal weight or shape, which suggests they placed more value on their appearance than life itself.
Your say: If you could change one part of your body, what would it be?
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