College and University Blog

At most colleges, many students find the competition outside of the classroom just as challenging as inside the classroom. There is great pressure to look a certain way and body image issues may develop because of these expectations.

Body image is more than just how someone feels about their body. It is a mental representation of how one feels about themselves and is influenced by feelings, behaviors, thoughts, self-esteem, and the world around us. A survey by Psychology Today found that 24% of women would trade three years of their life and 15% would trade five or more years of their life if they could be their ideal weight. This demonstrates what a drastic effect body image and weight can have on a person.

There are numerous factors in how a person feels about their body. Some of these include:

• Size Prejudice

In American culture there is a great deal of emphasis placed on body weight, size, and appearance. Children are beaten up and ridiculed for being fat. Fat people are discriminated against in job selection and overlooked for promotions. We are conditioned at an early age to believe that self-worth is derived by these external characteristics. Thinness is often associated with being hard-working, successful, popular, beautiful, strong, and self-disciplined. On the other hand, being fat is often associated with being lazy, ignorant, hated, ugly, weak, and lacking will-power. These stereotypes are common in our society. As a result, we often unfairly judge others and label them based on their size alone. We often believe that if we can just be thinner, we can be happier, more successful, and more accepted by society.

• The Media

The media sets unrealistic standards for what body weight and appearance is considered

Posted on 28 Feb