Many of us are usually not completely satisfied with our physical appearance. We want to alter ourselves, to be like the present ideals portrayed on magazine covers, billboards, TV, movies… In fact, there’s a multi-billion dollar industry made up of individuals's desire to look “better”. Built around
I believe all of us think that our society's obsession with body image shouldn’t be entirely healthy, and it's not. There is plenty of research showing that poor body image is linked to depression and eating disorders, especially in women.
Research has also shown that exercise can improve an individual's body image, even when there aren’t any actual changes to their body. A study found that just half-hour of physical activity had a big positive effect on women's body image. But why is that?
Oh A short study Published in Journal Psychology of sport and exercise Tested different hypotheses. They recruited 75 college-aged women who were dissatisfied with their body image, as measured by several previously validated questionnaires. Only women of normal weight, without major medical problems and who were already moderately obese, were chosen to participate.
Questionnaires assessed how these women felt about their appearance, weight, body fat percentage, fitness, endurance, strength, exercise capability, energy levels and stress. They were also asked how much they enjoyed exercise. Then, half of the ladies exercised for half-hour vigorously (on an exercise bike, between 65% and 85% of their maximum heart rate) while the opposite half sat in a room and skim a magazine (but No Fashion or fitness magazines, only National Geographic!) Then all of them repeated the questionnaire, immediately and again 20 minutes later.
Women who exercised felt significantly thinner and stronger Immediately And it still felt that way 20 minutes after the workout. The authors suggest that these positive changes may last more than 20 minutes, and thus may help to suggest that folks who exercise often may feel higher no matter any actual changes of their appearance. Why are pictures higher? They call for more research to look at various kinds of exercise and to increase study time after exercise.
Although this can be a small study, it supports earlier findings. I believe it's protected to say that exercise is clearly related to improved body image, and little or no is lacking. I already recommend regular exercise to my patients that suffer from depression, and for many who suffer from poor self-image, this suggestion may be much more necessary.