The Effects of Appearance-Related Commentary on Body Dissatisfaction, Eating Pathology, and Body Change Behaviors in Men

Appearance- related commentary can be positive or negative. Such commentary has been shown to negatively affect the mental health and well-being of women in a well-documented body of research. There is limited research on this topic pertaining to males. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of weight and shape based, appearance-related commentary in men. Results indicated that men who reported receiving positive commentary were more likely to experience positive outcomes, report less body dissatisfaction, and report engaging in more appearance-change behaviors (specifically, behaviors having to do with exercise and muscle building). Men who reported receiving negative commentary were more likely to experience eating pathology and body dissatisfaction and report more dieting, hair-related, and genital focused behaviors. It appears that men are affected by negative, appearance-related commentary in a similar fashion as women, but that they may respond to positive commentary in ways consistent with the intentions of the comments