The Relationship of Body Image, Nutritional Intake, and Physical Activity in a sample of College Males

The Relationship of Body Image , Nutritional Intake , and Physical Activity in a Diverse Sample of College Males

INTRODUCTION :- In the modern times , with metrosexuality being propagated by David Beckham , boys and men are becoming more and more conscious of the way they look and the way their bodies are in comparison with the fit bodies of their favorite football stars . One decade earlier , women were supposed to be vain looking around for mirrors and trying to keep their hair , skin and their bodies perfectly groomed and exercised . Trends have

changed so much so that these days , men are becoming even more conscious than women for having that `perfectly muscular body and perfect personality

We will be able to understand the relationship between body image , nutritional intake and physical activity in college males only by understanding the intricacies involved in the concept of body image . Body image is basically a psychological concept A distorted body image results in the abnormal activities of excessive physical exercise or abnormal patterns of nutrition intake . Numerous studies have been conducted in this field so as to develop a relationship between the above variables However , most of these studies are concentrated on females as until a few years ago , females were more likely to be dissatisfied with their body images and hence more predisposed towards developing eating diss and physical exercise patterns that are far from normal . In the present scenario males have also become conscious of their looks and personality and hence they are also equally likely to develop eating diss

Body image , as mentioned above , is a psychological concept Body image is people 's own opinion about their bodies- in compliance with the physical , mental , cognitive , emotional and historical components . In every mind , there is an ideal body structure (which may be different in different eras . Body image is a cognitive comparison done by a person between the ideal body and their own body . Body image is not static , it is dynamic and will keep on changing from time to time depending on the person 's self concept . A negative body image is the result when a person finds that his / her body falls short of the standards set by the ideal body image . it may become a serious psychological problem resulting in numerous problems like eating diss (218 Cash , Thomas F . 1990 Unconsciously or consciously people try to alter their bodies to fit into the ideal mould (218 Cash , Thomas F . 1990 . In spite of most studies being concentrated on females until recently , there are a few studies that explore these dimensions for college going males . In one of those studies , about eight percent of males in this age group showed dissatisfaction with their bodies and abnormal exercise patterns (285 O 'Dea , Jennifer A . 2002 Eating diss are basically of two major types . One of them is anorexia nervosa wherein the person suffering from it becomes too preoccupied with loosing weight and shuns food . He she adopts an abnormally difficult and severe...