Impact of media exposure, ethnicity and body mass index on the body image of college women

The current thesis project sought to analyze the following three problems: (1) the relationship between media exposure and body image, (2) the relationship between body image and media exposure to determine if there are racial group differences, and (3) the relationship between body image, Body Mass Index and media exposure. Eighty-one females participated in this study, recruited from two large public northeastern universities. The results of the study show a significant negative correlation between media exposure and measures of body image. There were no significant differences found between Caucasian and non-Caucasian women for media exposure. Based on the results, magazines and television are related to the way women feel about their bodies