Social Physique Anxiety, Obligation to Exercise, and Exercise Choices Among College Students

Abstract

Obligation to exercise appears to be similar for both sexes. Women, however, appear to have higher levels of anxiety regarding how others evaluate their physique than do men. The combination of level of activity and sex do not appear to be associated with social physique anxiety or obligation to exercise.

Do exercise motives predict obligatory exercise?

“…Similar to previous studies (Bushman & Brandenburg, 2009;Chu, Bushman, & Woodard, 2008), there were no gender differences in obligatory exercise in the present study. However, as expected, there were gender differences in reasons for exercise and in the magnitude of the relation between reasons for exercise and obligatory exercise.…”

Social Physique Anxiety: An Exploration of Influence on Sporting Confidence and Participation

“…It is important to understand possible influences that may limit sporting participation as a lack of participation in sports may be linked to health concerns including obesity and high blood pressure (Atalay & Gençöz, ). In addition, as less sport participation is associated with higher body weight (Chu, Bushman, & Woodard, ), and therefore a deviance from social body ideals, it is possible that less sport participation may exacerbate psychological distress associated with body dissatisfaction and SPA (Chu et al., ; Krane, Stiles‐Shipley, Waldron, & Michalenok, ). Despite this, the relationship between body image and SPA has seldom been explored.…”

“…Body image ideals for men have now been shown to lean toward a highly muscular, low body fat physique with less emphasis on low weight when contrasted with the traditional thin ideal promoted to women (Hallsworth, Wade, & Tiggemann, ; Hildebrandt et al., ; Tager, Good, & Morrison, ). Although SPA has been consistently shown to be greater in women than men (Bushman & Brandenburg, ; Chu et al., ), it has been shown that males also experience SPA, although women are more likely to report that SPA influences their behavior (Grieve et al., ). The disparity in results for SPA between genders warrants further exploration, although it is not the main exploration of the present study.…”

“…Participation in these sports may lead to greater concerns about being evaluated on appearance, and therefore higher SPA and lower body satisfaction (Krane et al., ; Reel & Gill, ). Because of the previously mentioned psychological consequences of body dissatisfaction and high SPA (Chu et al., ), it is important that the relationship between SPA, body image, and sporting participation is well understood.…”

“…The conflicting nature of the literature makes it necessary to determine the relationship between sporting participation and body dissatisfaction and SPA across a wide range of samples. Given the increased need for individuals to participate in sport due to the rising incidence of obesity and heart disease (Chu et al., ), it is important to determine whether sporting participation is related to body dissatisfaction and SPA. As a result, this study seeks to determine whether confidence in sport is related to SPA as a means of distinguishing how SPA may influence the desire to engage in sport.…”