Abstract
The aim of this study was tocompare fitness and dieting habits between female and male college students and tries to understand the difference in these habits between genders. The study also tried to determine how the students perceived themselves and how the society influences their perception of an ideal body size.
Questionnaires were administered for purposes of data collection. They were used in assessing the dieting and fitness habits of both male and female college students. They were also used in the determination of the extent of influence that the society has on the dieting habits and fitness habits among the students. In addition, they were used to determine the behaviour of students towards healthy eating regimes and tried to establish whether the health habits were self-driven or were dependent on societal influences. SPSS and R console softwares were used in the statistical analyses.
Unlike most previous studies, this study revealed that more male students were more concerned about their body perception when compared to their female counterparts. The male students were less confident and felt less attractive. Most male students also dieted and worked out more when compared to the female students. On the other hand, dieting and fitness habits of most female students were influenced by societal factors such as media. Generally, the younger population of both gender had more body perception issues than the older student population.
Introduction
The body image refers to an individual’s perceptions, emotional attitudes and beliefs of their own body and that of others. Research shows that quite a significant number of young adults and mostly college students are dissatisfied with their body image. Due to this distorted mind frame, they tend to explore diverse options to ensure that they acquire the desirable body size mostly by dieting and application of various body fitness regimes.
Most college students tend to explore unhealthier dieting habits as compared to healthier options mainly for purposes of weight loss in the case of female students and the need to gain muscle mass in the case of most male students. Healthy diet habits mainly refers to the substitution of calorie-rich foods or unhealthy foods with the healthier alternatives such as fruits and vegetables whilst unhealthy diet habits encompasses anorexic tendencies, binging and purging and use of diet pills. The total elimination of certain food groups from one’s diet with the goal of reducing calorie intake also falls in the category of unhealthy dieting habits given there is a great risk of losing out on vital dietary essentials.
Previous studies have established that there is usually a steep decline in physical activity during young adulthood. This has been linked to the fact that college students either exercise irregularly or are inactive with only an insignificant percentage exercising regularly.The obsession of most female college students for slimmer and leaner bodies is mostly associated with the desire for appealing to the opposite sex and not for the associated health reasons in as much as they are aware of the benefits. Young women mostly prefer less strenuous exercises such as aerobics and yoga.They also prefer participating in less competitive sports for reasons of weight reduction and stress relief.
On the contrary, male students tend to be more comfortable in their appearance when compared to females. Most male students exercise for self-esteem and enjoyment purposes and they tend to be involved in more competitive sports and work out with great intensity in order to gain more muscle strength .
These perceptions of ‘the ideal body size’ among college students are mostly linked to the negative societal pressure which tends to dictate how one should or should not look. The society has impressed upon young adults the need for the slimmer and ‘sexier’ female and the bold and more masculine male (alpha male) as the most ideal prototypes. Peer pressure and especially media play an extremely great and influential role in the transmission of this distorted psychology rendering most young adults to be uncomfortable in their skin and strive to attain the ideal body size that is acceptable to the society. Given the fact that it is at this stage that the young adults struggle so hard to fit in the society; most of those who are above the ideal body size or obese are greatly inclined to low self-esteem that may lead to suicidal tendencies and depression.
This study endeavours to understand the influence that the society has on the dieting and fitness habits among college students. This is because there is a great dynamism in what the society defines as the ideal body size especially in the case of females. For instance, a few years back the society indicated preference for a thinner female but recently there are indications that the society prefers a more voluptuous female with a tiny waistline. Given the fact that young adults are most prone to societal influences, college students are the most ideal indicators of this dynamism. The study therefore seeks to understand and evaluate the fitness and dieting habits adopted by college students in the pursuit of the ideal body shape and size as defined by the society.
This study ultimately seeks to contribute towards the advancement of sociological examinations of perception in a dynamic society and attempts to build on theories of social construction of frame, paradigm and schema.
Findings
Questionnaires were prepared to assess the dynamism of body perception among college students in addition to establishing their dieting and fitness habits across gender. They were also used in the determination of the influences that media, spouses and friends have on body perception, dieting habits and fitness habits. The questionnaires also assessed the behaviour of students towards healthy eating regimes and tried to establish whether the health habits were self-driven or were dependent on the aforementioned influences. The data collected were then analysed using chi square with the application of R console and SPSS softwares.
Fitness habits:
A total of 60 students of both gender were enrolled in the study. According to the findings basing on fitness according to age, the biggest percentage of those who exercised fell between the ages of 17 and 22 with a steep decline observed in students above 23 years. Most students who prefered cardio exercises were between 20 to 22 years and above 26 years; basically quite a significant number of students prefered cardio exercises. Interstingly, students between 20 and 22 years weight lifted the most followed by those between the ages of 17 and 19.
Very few students preferred to undertake yoga; although quite a number of those who preferred the exercise fell between 20 and 22 years. Most students above 23 years admitted to not exercising using either of the aforementioned fitness regimes. A bigger percentage of students between 20 and 22 years stated that they worked out frequently whilst most of those between 17 and 19 years worked out infrequently. A negligible percentage of those who participated in the survey admitted to hardly ever working out. In terms of improving the body image, most students stated that they did not work out to look better with only a few between 17 and 22 years admitting to the fact that they worked out for body image reasons.
Moreover, a small percentage stated that they worked out for the purpose of body sculpting and most of them were between 17 and 22 years with a bigger bulk falling between the ages of 20 and 22. In addition, only a small percentage of students stated that they worked out for health purposes.
In terms of gender, a bigger percentage of the males who were enrolled in the study exercised more compared to their female counterparts as shown in the figure below.
Figure 1: Bar graph showing fitness habits across gender
Most male students were involved in cardio and weight lifting exercises than the female students but quite a number of female students also preferred cardio exercises. On the other hand an equal percentage of both male and female students did yoga. Most male students worked out frequently when compared to female students. 50% of both the male and female students admitted that they worked out to look better whilst more female students stated that they worked out for health and fitness purposes when compared to the male students. Most male students admitted that they worked out for the purpose of body sculpting.
Body perception:
On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the most attractive), most students placed themselves at 4 in terms of attractiveness. Students between 20 and 22 years were the most confident in their looks with quite a small number between 17 and 19 years being the least confident as shown in table 1 below. Most students admitted to using the mirror frquently across all age groups with only a small percentage between 17 and 22 years stating that they hardly used the mirror
In terms of gender, more female students rated themselves at 5 and 3 when compared to their male counterparts while quite a significant number of the students rated themselves at 4. A small percentage of both female and male students rated themselves at 2 .As expected more female students used the mirror frequently whereas male students used the mirror sometimes.
Dieting habits:
A significant number of students across all age groups stated that they did not diet although it is worth noting that quite a number of students who participated in the survey between the ages of 17 and 22 and above 26 admitted to dieting. Most students between 17 and 19 years and above 26 years stated that they would eat anything whilst an equal percentage of students between 20 and 25 years were torn between eating and not eating anything. Majority of the students stated that they did not stay away from junk food with only an insignificant proportion admitting to keeping off junk food. Most students were also not restricted by religion on their choice of foods. In terms of diet choices; an insignificant number of students across all age groups preferred strict vegetarian, carbohydrate or protein diets, this could only mean that they preferred a combination of the three. Most of the students also stated that they did not prefer a weight watchers diet although a few between 20 and 22 years preferred this diet. Most students admitted that they did not shop groceries for themselves and the statistics indicate that they mostly relied on their parents to shop for them although quite a significant percentage prepared their own food.
A majority of those who dieted stated that they did so for health purposes. Most of them also admitted to dieting for weight loss purposes with most of them falling between 17 and 22 years. In addition, most students stated that they did not work out to gain muscle mass with a few of those who admitted to working out for muscle mass purposes falling between 17 and 22 years.
In terms of gender, it was interesting to note that most male students dieted more than female students although female students were more selective of what they eat given more of the male students had preference for junk food than their female counterparts. Both genders had equal preference for a vegetarian diet but most male students preferred a high protein and carbohydrate diet compared to the female students. Additionally, quite a significant percentage across gender had preference for a weight watchers diet with female students having a greater preference. A significant percentage of female students stated that they dieted for health and weight loss purposes when compared to their male counterparts.
Figure 2: Bar graph showing diet trends across gender for the purpose of weight loss
Influence on dieting habits
Majority of the students across all age groups stated that the media, family, friends and the significant other did not influence their eating habits. However, of those who were influenced by the above; most of them fell between 17 and 22 years.
In terms of gender, most female students admitted that their eating habits were influenced by media, friends, family and the significant other when compared to their male counterparts as indicated in figure 3 below. Although most male students were not influenced by the society, a sizeable percentage was also influenced by the above societal forces.
Figure 3: Graph showing the influence of the significant other on eating habits
Discussion:
According to the survey, it was evident that the younger population of college students exercised more compared to the older students. These students also engaged in rigorous exercises i.e. cardio and weight lifting and this trend declined steeply in students above 23 years. This indicates that the younger population of students work out more intensely compared to the older students with male students exercising more than their female counterparts. The findings also indicate that male students work out mostly for body image purposes while female students work out for both body image and health purposes. This basically means that the younger college students are keener on how they are perceived by the society than the older student population.
Quite a number of students in the lowest age group were least confident about being attractive while most of those between 20 and 22 years considered themselves very attractive. It was evident that students within the aforementioned age groups were more concerned about their appearance compared to older students who were more confident about their looks. Most female students used the mirror frequently and were more confident about their looks than their male counterparts indicating that there might be self-esteem issues in the latter gender.
In as much as most of the students in the younger population dieted more, a considerable number of female students above 26 years also dieted. This means that the younger population adopts both dieting and fitness habits to attain the ideal body size whilst the older population mostly prefers dieting only. An interesting twist was observed given more male students dieted more than their female counterparts and they mostly exercised for the purpose of body sculpting; this probably indicates that despite the societal belief that females are keener in their appearance, there is a probability that the society is mounting pressure on males to acquire a certain body size.
In general, the findings clearly brought out the impact that the society has on young adults given the fact that the eating habits of a significant number of students were influenced by media, family, friends and the significant other. It is therefore evident that the society dictates how college students should view themselves and it was also obvious that in most cases, college students adopt certain lifestyles to impress the society. However, it was worth noting that a sizeable number of students exercised and dieted for health purposes and this is very commendable in the present society.
Conclusion and recommendations
In this particular study, most of those who worked out and dieted for the ideal body perception purposes fell within the younger population of college students. Students in this age group were also less confident about their appearance when compared to the older ones. In terms of gender, female students were more confident in their looks when compared to their male counterparts although their dieting habits were mostly linked to external influences when compared to males.
Despite the fact that the data collected gave an indication of the dieting and fitness habits among college students; the number of students interviewed was not representative enough. In future, it would be ideal if the sample size is increased at least three fold to enable social scientists to clearly depict the influence that the society has on college students.
Secondly, it is difficult to understand the dynamics that the society has on body perception with the data generated herein. It is therefore worth recommending a longitudinal kind of surveillance for a minimum of three years for the trends of societal impact to be recognized.
References
Jennifer, A. (2002). Eating and exercise disorders in young college men.
Malinauskas, B. (2006). Dieting practices, weight perceptions, and body composition: A comparison of normal weight, overweight, and obese college females.
Saito, M. (2001). Effect of exercise habits and lifestyles on changes in physical fitness in medical college students: a 3-year follow-up study.
