The Relationship between Body Image and Lifestyle Choices in College Students

Abstract

This study examined the relationships between body image perceptions and lifestyle choices as well as demographic variables in college students. The participants included 258 students at East Texas Baptist University that were surveyed using a questionnaire constructed by the researcher. The survey included questions about sleep quality, nutrition, exercise, religiosity, body image perception, and demographics for the participants, taken from several other studies and scales. Each of the three body dissatisfaction scores had a positive correlation with one variable representing poor sleep quality. Amounts of moderate and vigorous exercise were shown to have a negative correlation with body dissatisfaction. Religiosity levels were found to be higher in participants that had lower levels of the “think minus ideal” body dissatisfaction score. As for demographic variables, females indicated higher levels of body dissatisfaction than males, and age was also found to have significant correlations with body dissatisfaction. As age increased in participants, the “think minus ideal” scores increased and the “feel minus think” scores decreased. The limitations of this study include a difficulty to generalize the findings due to the study’s population which was not very diverse as far as age, race, or religion. Further research could include looking more in-depth at the variables studied, surveying other populations, and running more tests on the gathered data.