Viewing television shows containing ideal and neutral body images while exercising: Does type of body image content influence exercise performance and body image in women?
Restricted accessOtherFirst published online September, 2011
Viewing television shows containing ideal and neutral body images while exercising: Does type of body image content influence exercise performance and body image in women?
This study examined how exposure to media containing different body image content while exercising influenced exercise performance and feelings concerning appearance. 41 females completed two sessions of cycling (30 minutes). During exercise, participants viewed a television show that contained either media-portrayed ideal or neutral female body images. There were no differences in exercise performance between conditions. Physical appearance state anxiety (PASA) decreased post-exercise. After viewing ideal bodies, participants scored higher on appearance and comparison processing. The high internalization group scored higher on appearance and comparison processing and PASA increased following ideal body image content while the low internalization group decreased.
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) ( 2004) ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription (7th edn). Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
2.
Campbell A. and Hausenblas HA ( 2009) Effects of exercise interventions on body image: A meta-analysis . Journal of Health Psychology14(6): 780-793.
3.
Cattarin JA, Thompson JK, Thomas C. and Williams R. ( 2000) Body image, mood, and televised images of attractiveness: The role of social comparison. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology19(2): 220-239.
4.
Dittmar H. and Howard S. ( 2004) Thin-ideal internalization and social comparison tendency as moderators of media models’ impact on women’s body-focused anxiety. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology23(6): 768-791.
5.
Dittmar H., Halliwell E. and Stirling E. ( 2009) Understanding the impact of thin media models on women’s body-focused affect: The roles of thin-ideal internalization and weight-related self-discrepancy activation in experimental exposure effects. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology28(1): 43-72.
6.
Ekkekakis P. and Petruzzello SJ ( 1999) Acute aerobic exercise and affect: Current status, problems and prospects regarding dose-response. Sports Medicine28(5): 337-374.
7.
Ekkekakis P., Hall EE, Van Landuyt LM and Petruzzello SJ ( 2000) Walking in (affective) circles: Can short walks enhance affect? Journal of Behavioral Medicine23(3): 245-275.
8.
Fallon EA and Hasuenblas HA ( 2005) Media images of the ‘ideal’ female body: Can acute exercise moderate their psychological impact? Body Image2: 62-73.
9.
Grabe S., Ward LM and Hyde JS ( 2008) The role of the media in body image concerns among women: A meta-analysis of experimental and correlational studies. Psychological Bulletin134 (3): 460-476.
10.
Groesz LM, Levine MP and Murnen SK ( 2002) The effect of experimental presentation of thin media images on body satisfaction: A meta-analytic review. International Journal of Eating Disorders31: 1-16.
11.
Halliwell E. and Dittmar H. ( 2004) Does size matter? The impact of model’s body size on women’s body focused anxiety and advertising effectiveness. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology23(1): 104-122.
12.
Hargreaves D. and Tiggemann M. ( 2002) The effect of television commercials on mood and body dissatisfaction: The role of appearance-schema activation. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology21(3): 287-308.
13.
Hausenblas HA and Fallon EA ( 2006) Exercise and body image: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Health21(1): 33-47.
14.
LePage ML, Crowther JH, Harrington EF and Engler P. ( 2008) Psychological correlates of fasting and vigorous exercise as compensatory strategies in undergraduate women. Eating Behaviors9: 423-429.
15.
Petrie TA and Greenleaf CA ( 2007) Eating disorders in sport: From theory to research to intervention. In: Tenenbaum G and Ecklund RC (eds) Handbook of Sport Psychology (3rd edn). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 352-378.
16.
Petruzzello SJ, Landers DM, Hatfield BD, Kubitz KA and Salazar WA ( 1991) A meta-analysis on the anxiety reducing effects of acute and chronic exercise: Outcomes and mechanisms. Sports Medicine11: 143-182.
17.
Reed DL, Thompson JK, Brannick MT and Sacco WP ( 1991) Development and validation of the Physical Appearance State and Trait Scale (PASTAS). Journal of Anxiety Disorders5(4): 323-332.
18.
Thompson JK, van den Berg P., Roehrig M., Guarda AS and Heinberg LJ ( 2004) The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale-3 (SATAQ-3): Development and validation. International Journal of Eating Disorders35: 293-304.
19.
Tiggemann M. and McGill B. ( 2004) The role of social comparison in the effect of magazine advertisements on women’s mood and body dissatisfaction. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology23(1): 23-44.
20.
Tiggemann M. and Slater A. ( 2004) Thin ideals in music television: A source of social comparison and body dissatisfaction. International Journal of Eating Disorders35: 45-58.
21.
Tiggemann M., Hargreaves D., Polivy J. and McFarlane T. ( 2004) A word-stem completion task to assess implicit processing of appearance-related information. Journal of Psychosomatic Research57: 73-78.
22.
Vocks S., Hechler T., Rohrig S. and Legenbauer T. ( 2009) Effects of physical exercise session on state body image: The influence of pre-experimental body dissatisfaction and concerns about weight and shape. Psychology and Health24(6): 713-728.
23.
Want SC ( 2009) Meta-analytic moderators of experimental exposure to media portrayals of women on female appearance satisfaction: Social comparisons as automatic processes. Body Image8: 257-269.
24.
Wasilenko KA, Kulik JA and Wanic RA ( 2007) Effects of social comparisons with peers on women’s body satisfaction and exercise behavior. International Journal of Eating Disorders40: 740-745.
