Adolescent Boys and Body Image: Weight and Muscular Concerns as Dual Pathways to Body Dissatisfaction - Article Example

During the ages of the time when adolescence hits young males, this is a time when many are changing physically, in the ways that they think and also how they consider themselves among peers.  The way a person sees themselves and their body is often a predictor of other issues in life which could be related to self-esteem or other mental issues.  To be able to understand the factors that might relate to a boy’s body image concept would help possibly prevent any negative effects on the young boy.

   Socially, young males are being exposed to a higher rate of expectation to develop muscularity.  Magazine models and action figures reinforce this idea because they have a more muscular appearance than ever before.  This has been associated with males having lower self-esteem and they are striving to take action to create a more muscular physique by exercising more, taking steroids, lifting weights, and bodybuilding.  Weight and body mass index which measures body size also is a factor that can influence a young male’s body image.

When compared to girls, weight as measured by the body mass index, the higher the BMI levels also result in negative body image for boys.  A pattern appears that muscular build and weight do contribute to body dissatisfaction in adolescent boys.  In this particular study, grade level and peer influences also showed a more distinct correlation because of the focus on individual characteristics as expressed through the questionnaires.   During the procedure, students were given the questionnaire during school hours.

  Some of the questions related to how they discussed their appearance with their peers and how they felt about their looks while other questions discussed whether or not young males and their peers talked about muscle building.  Assessment questions about their weight were also asked in regards to whether the boys thought they were heavier or were afraid to gain weight.  They were also asked if they would like to be more muscular or bulkier.  Questions about the boys’ body dissatisfaction were also asked to see if how they felt about their biceps and chest size.

  Each male’s body mass index was calculated based on the height and weight they included on their questionnaire. Most of the empirical data suggested that the majority of boys had a normal BMI range but approximately one-third were either overweight or at risk for being overweight.  Less than 10 percent of the males were underweight. When evaluating the questions about conversations with their peers, building muscle was more prevalent in conversations involving older boys. The boys who were more concerned with muscle building had higher rates of body dissatisfaction.

  However, if they talked about bodybuilding, their body dissatisfaction was lesser.  Conclusively, the heavier boys had more concern about weight and also had a more negative body image.  Since the shift of muscularity concern increases when the males grow older, this may reflect the fact that the boys are at a stage where they are becoming more aware of masculinity and attractiveness.