News headlines denoting occurrences of suicide, depression, and anxiety in people over their appearance are not alien to us. Research has pointed out a connection between one’s physical appearance and mental health. Body image comprises two aspects: body perception and body satisfaction. The former deals with the individual’s own assessment of their physical characteristics as well as the accuracy of the judgment whereas, the latter deals with the individual’s contentment with the measurements and appearance of their body.
The most obvious link between psychological well-being and body image comes from studies exploring morbid obesity, a complex metabolic condition. Research shows that body image significantly affects various facets of psychological well-being with the exception of developing independence and finding purpose in life amongst individuals with morbid obesity. Additionally, this relationship is explored by studying the link between eating disorders and mental as well as emotional well-being. A study conducted on patients with eating disorders checking SF-36 health status, (a multi-purpose health questionnaire to measure well-being) shows that individuals with eating disorders scored significantly higher on emotional impairment and lower on the mental components.
The results of the aforementioned studies further pose a question of whether only individuals that are on the heavier side or have a medical condition have body image concerns? The answer is a “NO”. A study conducted on the Polish population attempting to validate the Goldfarb Fear of Fat scale (a questionnaire measuring emotional impairments in patients with eating disorders) studied both individuals with eating disorders and the general population. The results show that both groups respond similarly to the scale, except for the difference in reasons that explain their fear. Originally the fear was simply explained by losing control over diet and weight in the clinical population. Whereas in the general population, the fear was understood by losing control over diet and weight as well as the fear of gaining weight. Additionally, a study exploring the link between psychological well-being and body image in individuals with morbid obesity demonstrated that differences in the weight of individual participants did not affect their well-being results but rather just their perception of weight gain did.
It is also worth noticing that this field is highly focused on women and rarely researches the ramification of the same in men. Hence, another question that arises is that are men not bothered by their appearance, and does it not affect their mental well-being? A study exploring various aspects of body image (body appreciation, number of hours invested to get to the ideal body image, body satisfaction, and effects of age) noted that body dissatisfaction and the number of hours to reach the ideal body image were higher in women than men. On the other hand, men showed higher appreciation for their bodies as opposed to women and with age, men tend to care less about appearance whereas the same was not true in the case of women.
Research shows that age and gender are not the only variables that affect our perception of our bodies. A study involving Indian participants shows that high Body Mass Index (BMI), societal pressures to be thin, and biased definitions of beauty add to the list. Furthermore, this study shows the general tendency of 64.8% of participants to undertake preventive measures at least once a year to lose the extra kilos. The motivation to reduce the kilos comes from the desire to lose weight, look pretty, and fit into slimmer clothes.
It is also important to explore whether having or aiming for a physically attractive body always has negative connotations. A study focusing on understanding how being physically attractive helps navigate various facets of life showed that being physically attractive gives one an advantage in academic, professional, as well as social areas of life. This beauty advantage consists of favoring individuals who are physically more attractive (i.e., slim, fair, with symmetrical facial features) in all areas irrespective of whether they were efficient in real life or not. A downside of this perception is the resulting stringent definition of beauty and the associated disadvantage as well as stereotypes towards the more average-looking, people.
Another important relationship in this field that needs to be explored is culture and its link to body image. Effects of media portrayal of influential people on body image of individuals from different cultures shows that Hispanic women were affected significantly more than White and African females by media beauty standards. Anecdotal evidence for this can be seen in the attitudes of people of a certain ethnicity. For instance, in India skin whitening creams are highly demanded and endorsed because of the stereotype that white skin makes you more beautiful.
Further, it has been noted that being in contact with social pressures such as social media that propagate beauty in thinness and fairness adds to anxiety and negative body image. It is thus suggestible to spend time in nature away from sources of distress and accept one's existing body image. These interventions should be advocated as body image concerns can escalate in no time to body dysmorphic disorder, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and resorting to surgeries to create an ideal self. These interventions should be taken early in life as adolescence is a critical age, and physical appearance is one of the crucial factors that help build a positive self-image. Apart from this, one should also seek therapy if need be to deal with body image concerns involving an eating disorder or low self-esteem.
It would be of key importance to also appreciate one’s body and engage in rational acceptance, a coping mechanism that involves rationalizing and keeping in check all the thoughts concerning body image. Additionally, a systemic intervention is required. Beauty is a subjective construct and hence sticking to a stringent definition only makes matters worse. Beauty rather comes in all sizes and shapes and should be appreciated irrespective of its nature.
Urvi Mange
