Chapter 8

Activities

1. Examine how the media portrays exercise and body image for men and women. Choose one popular women’s magazine and one popular men’s magazine (not fitness magazines). Compare the following across the two magazines:
   • the number of references to exercise as a way to lose weight and change physical appearance
   • the number of references to exercise as a way to improve health
   • the number of advertisements and articles on diets and diet products
   • the number of models whose bodies could be considered typical or representative of the general population
   • the number of models whose bodies represent the ultra-trim and ultra-fit cultural ideal
2. Perform the following activities with your classmates:
   • Ask students to complete the Appearance Evaluation and Drive for Muscularity scales. Have everyone tally their scores for each scale and then submit a brief report listing their scores, their sex, and the number of times per week that they exercise.
   • Calculate the mean (average) score for each scale for the female students and for the male students. On what scales did the women score higher than the men? On what scales did the men score higher than the women? Did the men and women have similar scores on any of the scales? Discuss behavioral, biological, social, and psychological factors that might explain any differences or similarities in scale scores between men and women.
   • Calculate the mean score for each body image scale for women who exercise at least three times per week and then for women who exercise two times or fewer per week. Repeat this procedure for the men. What trends do you notice when you compare female exercisers’ and nonexercisers’ body image scores? Do similar trends exist for the men? With reference to the Exercise and Self-Esteem Model, explain why differences may exist between exercisers’ and nonexercisers’ body image scores.
3. Obtain a copy of either the PSPP or the PSDQ (either from the appropriate reference in this chapter or from your instructor) and ask each member of the class to complete it. After properly scoring the questionnaire, ask your instructor to correlate each student’s questionnaire score and activity score (from Learning Activity 1 in Chapter 2). Discuss the results.
4. Review the scenario featuring Ashleigh at the beginning of the chapter. Suppose that she has asked you to design an exercise program for her. Based on the information in this chapter, what steps should you take in designing the program? Explain the rationale for your program.

Vocabulary

Anorexia nervosa - An eating disorder characterized by the refusal to maintain a minimally healthy weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, body image disturbance, and, in women, absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles.

Binge-eating/purging type - A type of anorexia involving regular binge-eating and purging episodes.

Body composition - The relative amount of lean body mass versus fat in the body.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) - Characterized by obsessive preoccupation with a perceived defect or flaw in physical appearance that is not observable or appears only slightly anomalous to others.

Body ideal - An individual’s perception of how his or her body should look and function.

Affective/emotional dimension of body image - Feelings experienced in relation to one’s own body’s appearance and function.

Behavioral dimension - With regard to body image, things we do that reflect our positive or negative perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about our bodies.

Cognitive dimension of body image - How we think about or evaluate our body in terms of both its appearance and function.

Perceptual dimension of body iImage - An individual’s mental picture of his or her own body.

Body image disturbance - Negative self-evaluations along any or all of the body image dimensions; also known as negative body image or poor body image.

Body reality - An individual’s actual physical characteristics, such as height, weight, strength, and disease. When body reality is the same as or similar to body ideal, this is usually indicative of a healthy body image. When body reality is dissimilar to body ideal, there may be body image disturbance.

Bulimia nervosa - An eating disorder characterized by binge eating and dramatic behaviors to compensate for overeating (e.g., self-induced vomiting, strenuous exercise, inappropriate use of diuretics and/or laxatives).

General self-concept - The way in which we see or define ourselves.

Healthy body image - Positive self-evaluations in the perceptual, cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions of body image.

Muscle dysmorphia - A special type of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) characterized by a preoccupation with muscularity.

Nonpurging type - A type of bulimia involving regular use of compensatory behaviors, such as fasting or excessive exercising, but no purging episodes.

Physical acceptance - The extent to which an individual accepts who he/she is physically.

Physical competence - A generalized perception of competence with respect to one’s physical skills and abilities.

Physical self-concept - An individual’s judgment of his or her general physical abilities.

Physical self-efficacy - The extent to which an individual believes she or he will be successful in performing a desired behavior, given the situation and the abilities that the individual possesses.

Purging type - A type of bulimia that involves regular episodes of self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives or diuretics.

Restricting type - A type of anorexia that involves no binge-eating or purging behaviors but rather the limitation of eating to the point where a minimally normal body weight is not maintained.

Self-concept - The way in which we see or define ourselves.

Self-esteem - he evaluative or affective consequence of one’s self-concept.

Social physique anxiety - The anxiety a person experiences when he or she perceives or imagines that others are evaluating his or her body.

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