In the traditional debate between biological and environmental determinants of body weight, the body has most often been explored in terms of its anatomical, genetic, or hormonal influences on personality, experience, and behavior. While obesity has been identified as a threat to our public health, correlating attitudes toward body image and self-concept have been explored within women to a limited extent, and even less so in relation to men. Consequently, men's body image will be discussed in light of current literature reveals for women. For men, as for women, as the social pressure to attain an "ideal" physique increases, the discrepancy between that ideal and one's body increases as well. This dynamic is more readily recognized for women than for men. As men are socialized not to discuss their body image concerns, negative self-concept and esteem may reinforce behaviors resulting in weight gain. In recent years, the proliferation of media has served to reinforce messaging related to one's body. This review of existing data and literature suggests that body image and self-concept are related to body weight in men (as with women) and need to be addressed as part of healthy weight management practices.

This study investigated psychosocial and demographic variables that might influence internalized homonegativity (IH) in midlife and older gay and bisexual men (GBM). Data were collected from 802 community-dwelling GBM aged 40 to 94 years ( M = 54.8) through an anonymous questionnaire that assessed levels of IH, coping self-efficacy, self-silencing, and other characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression analysis successfully explained 22% of the variance in predicting IH, which was significantly related to coping self-efficacy, self-silencing, gay community volunteering, partnership status, and race, F = 59.74, p < .001. IH scores were highest in participants who were single, had lower education levels, were non-White, were less involved in gay community volunteering, experienced less coping self-efficacy, and reported higher levels of self-silencing behaviors. These data underscore the need for more tailored programming approaches for midlife and older GBM, focusing on underlying factors contributing to IH that include skill-building to increase coping self-efficacy, community involvement, and decrease self-silencing behaviors in this overlooked population.

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Context: Physical inactivity has been identified as one of the greatest current health burdens worldwide. In addition to physical activity's primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention benefits related to many diseases, physical activity has been shown to be associated with improvements in concentration, memory, and performance on standardized tests. Studies on physical activity and medical education have suggested that given the scholastic demands required to become a physician, medical trainees may find it challenging to meet the recommended amounts of physical activity. Objective: To determine the extent to which osteopathic medical students (OMS) in the United States are meeting minimum recommendations for physical activity. Methods: Utilizing a cross-sectional design, in partnership with the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) and Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-KPCOM), we conducted an online survey of third and fourth year OMS across USA, from August through December 2015. The survey collected self-reported data on frequency and duration of vigorous and moderate physical activity per week. Results: Most participants (60.7%) met or exceeded the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) physical activity guidelines of at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity per week. The OMS respondents' mean of 215 minutes of physical activity per week significantly exceeded the ACSM recommendation (p = .000). Conclusions: OMS are well positioned to become physically active physicians and, in turn, promote physical activity in their patients. Future studies may look at barriers to physical activity in medical students and attempt to increase participation in active lifestyles in this population.