As I read the article concerning Body Images, I wondered…why are us women always so critical of ourselves. I actually think it covers more than just Body Image. I have found the older I get, the more tolerant I have become. I’m not quite as fussy with my housekeeping or having my hair in fixed when I’m running to the grocery store.
Here is the article I wanted to share:
It doesnt take much to make a man feel satisfied with his body: a look in the mirror and a sense of well-being is sufficient. For women however, changes in body image need to be supported by hard physical evidence. The findings surprised the study’s author, Kathleen Martin Ginis, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University.
“We thought–obviously incorrect–that womens body image would improve more than men’s as they progressed through the strength training study,” Martin Ginis said. “We were surprised by the responsiveness of men’s body image to strenth training. Men’s body image improved as much as women’s. Yet interestingly, men didn’t care about numbers–how much weight they actually lost or how much muscle they actually gained had no bearing on their body image; if they simply felt more muscular and stronger, or if their pants were looser, that was good enough to improve their body image. But when it came to the women, feeling thinner and stronger were only part of the story. The women that had the greatest improvements in body image
were those who saw actually increases in the amount of weight they could lift at the gym.”
This study followed men and women for 12 weeks between the ages of 18-29. They had up to this point, led sedentary lives. When I read that, it really made me wonder. At those ages, I was busy going to school, working full time, and raising kids. I dont understand how people could be sedentary in that age range.
