*Corresponding Author:

Dr. Lisa Herzig

California State University, Fresno, 5300 North Campus Drive M/S FF17, Fresno, CA 93740, USA, Tel: 559-278-2043; E-mail: lherzig@mail.fresnostate.edu

Keywords: Disordered eating, body image, college athletes, self-objectification, social media.

Women’s Body Ideals in Western Society

A body ideal refers to a physical ideal that a person seeks to imitate [1]. In the United States, many women and men strive to attain specific body ideals unique to their gender within the confines of Western culture’s body ideal standards. The thin body ideal for women has been established for decades, beginning with the idolization of models and flapper girls in the early 1900s [1]. Aside from the short digression from the thin ideal during the 1950’s under Marilyn Monroe’s influence, the weight of females in the mass media has been steadily decreasing since the 1900’s, especially since the 1950’s [2,3]. This is exemplified by the increasing thinness of Playboy centerfolds and Miss America Pageant winners from the 1950’s to the present [4,5]. Furthermore, Sypeck, Gray, and Ahrens, discovered that fashion models, both in television and print during the 1980’s and 1990’s are less curvaceous and more “angular” [6,7]. Moreover as Western women’s body ideals became thinner over time, the average American women under twenty had a weight gain of 5-6 lbs. on average; thereby creating an ever-increasing gap between body ideals and women’s realistic body sizes still observed today [7].

Additionally, the media’s influence on a high level of thinness may be progressively incorporating fitness into the Western collegiate female body ideal. For example, in a recent study led by psychologists Bozsik, Whisenhunt, Hudson, Bennett, and Lundgren [5], the importance of muscularity in the thin-ideal was examined by a sample of 30 female undergraduate college students who rated the attractiveness of images depicting thin-muscular women versus thin women. When the images were ranked side-by-side, the students preferred thin-muscular models versus thin models demonstrating that the “ideal” is changing again [5]. New terms such as “thinspiration” and “fitspiration” were beginning to show up in digital media and other similar media emphasizing the thinness and muscularity of areas such as the pelvis and abdomen in women [8]. The muscularity of the ideal female body exemplified in these social media images can affect both athletes and non-athletes.

Female athletes tend to respond differently to the western ideal when compared to non-athletes. Beckner and Record evaluated athletes’ personal feelings about their body image and the role of the thin ideal in the context of being an athlete. Beckner and Record asked the participants questions regarding the importance of body weight in their respective sports. The results indicated that professional and college female athletes feel pressure to conform to the thin ideal. They also feel the need to achieve a certain level of fitness and leanness to perform optimally and be competitive in their sport [8]. This results in a risk of increased body dissatisfaction and unhealthy behaviors as female athletes work to achieve both standards leading to self-objectification, body consciousness, and disordered eating [9].

It is important to note that the ideal described above is specific to women of Western culture, and that members of other ethnicities may abide by different body ideals due to their unique cultural values [10]. Western cultures emphasize the connection between a thin body and one’s societal role, success, and life satisfaction. This may cause an American female to associate being thin with a higher ranking in society, accomplished success, and a heightened satisfaction with her life [11]. Warren, Gleaves, Cepeda‐Benito, Fernandez, and Rodriguez‐Ruiz found that members of non-Western ethnicities such as the Spanish and European populations, may (1) place less emphasis on the thin ideal and, (2) place less value on physical traits in the context of a woman’s worth and success. Warren et al. describes that ethnic minorities residing in Western culture “may have comparable levels of awareness of the thin ideal but may not internalize such information because of an affiliation with a culture of origin that does not esteem or support such values and ideals” [12]. This suggests that female collegiate athletes from non-Western cultures may place a lesser emphasis on achieving Western body ideals than women from Westernized cultures within the United States because of the diversity of cultures and beliefs. Furthermore, non-Western ethnicities have their own body ideals. Western Black adolescent female ideals tend to focus less on physical beauty and more on desirable personality traits such as style, confidence, and attitude [13]. Jackson and Grilo looked at young Hispanic women and concluded that White and Latina participants “reported similar levels of body dissatisfaction after exposure to mediated images of thin women, but that Latinas could resist the mediated ideal more than could Anglo women” [14]. Thus, while there is Western influence present in non-Western individuals residing in the United States, the effects of the influence vary and continue to primarily affect White Americans. Finally, Asian American women have a higher likelihood of endorsing mainstream body ideals in a way that emulates White women. This is exemplified by the occurrence of negative self-evaluations in Asian American women when exposed to images depicting Western body ideals [15]. Further investigation is needed to confidently describe the effects of non-Western body ideals on non-White individuals’ levels of conformation to the Western female body ideal, as this will provide insight into how the perception of the Western body ideal affects eating patterns of individuals from various cultural backgrounds, as outlined in later sections.

Men’s Body Ideals in Western Society

The Western body ideal for men promotes a lean and muscular figure [16]. This is exemplified by a study by Ridgeway and Tylka, who investigated college males about “men’s general ideal body composition and shape along with their ideal body composition and shape” [17]. Results indicated that men’s body ideals could be defined as tall, muscular, and lean with a V-like shape (which emphasizes a large upper body and a small waist) [17].

Additionally, this body ideal has evolved over time. The popularity of leanness and V-shape increased dramatically from the 1960s to the 1980s, and fell slightly in the 1990s, while muscularity increased progressively over time, and peaked in the 1990s [18]. These changes are visible in mainstream media today, including muscular action figures and centerfold male models [19]. Men’s repetitive exposure to media images further encourages the achievement of the muscular body ideal and demonstrates Western society’s preference and praise for a lean male body [20,21].

It is also important to note that men’s achievement of this body ideal is highly connected to masculinity, as muscularity is one of the aspects of “hegemonic masculinity,” or the main conceptions of “what it means to be a man” [22]. In a study by Galli, Petrie, Reel, Chatterton, and Baghurst investigated collegiate male athlete’s weight pressures and drive for muscularity surrounding the Western male body ideal. Results indicate that falling short of achieving the muscular body ideal often leads men growing dissatisfied with their personal body image, as they may experience external persuasion from friends, family, and even themselves to conform to the Western body ideal. This is especially true in the context of male athletes who experience escalating pressure to conform to Western body ideals from coaches, teammates, and other individuals in the sports environment [23]. Additionally, men’s opinions of their current and ideal body physiques are closely connected to the typical male gender roles in terms of masculinity [24].

Societal pressures to achieve this body ideal are complex due to the subtleties of both discipline and obsession. Self-discipline to achieve the ideal physique is praised; however, an overactive obsession with the physique is deemed unattractive. Gill, Kenwood, and McLean interviewed 140 British men about their language regarding their bodies and body practices as well as other men. Results showed that the men collectively condemned obsessive use of the gym in order to avoid appearing vain, while most stated that it is necessary to use the gym for health purposes [25]. Interestingly, the word “obsessive” is defined as a state in which an idea or thought “continually preoccupies or intrudes an individual’s mind” [26] while the term self-disciplined is described as “correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement” [27]. Bratland-Sanda, Mathisen, Sundgot-Borgen, and Rosenvinge looked at the connection between compulsive exercise and obsession and described compulsive exercise as “1) excessive that the patient feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly, and 2) the exercise is aimed at preventing some dreaded consequences or at preventing or reducing stress, often based on distorted beliefs about exercise” [28]. This research provides insight on how easily an obsession may lead to compulsive exercise. Both obsession and compulsivity may lead to unwanted behaviors and a decline in mental health, whereas self-discipline may lead to improvement [27,29]. The Western emphasis on appearance challenges male athletes to mitigate the tension between self-discipline and obsession as they endure pressure from individuals in the sports environment to conform to sport-specific body ideals. Male athletes must avoid an overt obsession with their appearance, or they risk looking vain and receiving disapproval from other males [23, 25].

While there is limited research about non-Western body ideals in men, research has been conducted on levels of body dissatisfaction in males of Western and non-Western cultures. In a study of men’s body satisfaction in the United States, Ukraine, and Ghana, 90% of the undergraduate men from the United States wished to obtain a more muscular physique, along with 69% of Ukrainian and 49% of Ghanaian men [24]. Additionally, according to Cachelin, Rebeck, Chung, and Pelayo, collegiate white men and women reported the lowest levels of body satisfaction and most significant overestimation of weight in comparison to Latino American men and women; and black men and women reported the greatest body satisfaction and lowest overestimation of weight [30]. These findings may indicate that both genders’ Westernized body ideals affect white American men more dramatically than men of other ethnicities. This may affect how collegiate white American athletes view their bodies. Jung, Forbes, and Chan looked at the significance of body ideals for men in both Chinese and American men [31]. Results indicate that compared to American men, Chinese men had lower body satisfaction but made fewer positive associations for muscularity. Furthermore, the Chinese men had greater satisfaction with muscularity and a lower drive for muscularity. This indicates that, unlike American men, Chinese men may not associate greater muscularity with greater body satisfaction. Thus, muscularity may not have the same effect on body satisfaction in non-American males. Despite the differences in the participants’ levels of satisfaction with muscularity, both Chinese and American collegiate men were unsatisfied with their level of muscularity [31]. Thus, the internalization of Western body ideals for males may lead to greater body dissatisfaction in white males compared to males of non-Western ethnicities.

Body ideals have a great influence on self-objectification because they have the potential to form the basis of self-objectification that women and men face. With a thorough explanation of the different body ideals amongst women and men, one may have a clearer understanding of self-objectification. The following section will bridge the connection between body ideals and self-objectification.

Self-Objectification in Women and Men

Self-objectification and its implications have been a popular area of study for decades. The seminal study Objectification Theory by Fredrickson and Roberts offers a framework that explains how women are objectified in social contexts [32]. Objectification occurs when an outsider views a woman as a mere body to be “consumed” or to be a source of pleasure. The term also implies that her psychological attributes, personality, and intelligence are partially or altogether neglected in favor of concentrating on her physical features [33]. The internalization of the onlooker’s perspective is common to some degree in both genders today, and may be a source of shame, anxiety, altered motivational states, and heightened awareness of the state of the body. These consequences accumulate in what is termed a “disruption in the flow of consciousness,” or the emotional, attentional, and motivational deficits that result from constant monitoring of one’s bodily state. While it is likely that levels of objectification vary by social class, age, sexuality, ethnicity, personal history, and unique physical attributes, it is also likely that most women experience some level of objectification according to Fredrickson and Roberts [32] and further literature contributions by Moradi & Huang [34], Noll & Fredrickson [35], Gay & Castano [36].

To understand the complexity of objectification, one must understand the significance of sexual objectification in women. Underlying objectification theory is the concept of sexual objectification. According to researchers Moradi and Huang, the separation of women’s sexual body parts from their intelligence and their personality signifies the occurrence of sexual objectification. It assigns significance to physique, especially the attributes of “beauty and attractiveness” [34]. Sexual objectification is taken a step further when women socially “treat themselves as objects to be looked upon and evaluated based upon bodily appearance” [34]. Women may view themselves in a sexually objectified way due to the multiple sexual glazing conditions of objectifying gazing [27-37]. Sexual gazing is carried out through sexual commentary, [37] visual media of men looking at females’ bodies more than vice versa, [38] visual media highlighting and emphasizing female bodies and body parts, such as pornography [39] and music videos [40]. Researchers at the American Psychological Association found that media-idealized images have the most harmful and substantial impact on vulnerable individuals (i.e., “internalizers” and “self-objectifiers”), regardless of media characteristics (i.e., frequency and length of exposure, media types) or gender [41].

The combination of social interaction and media depictions of the female body prompt comparison of one’s own body to the body standards of society, or ideal body [34].

Sexual objectification leads directly to acts of self-objectification, which is defined as the internalization of an onlooker’s perspective on one’s own body by focusing on one’s external physical characteristics and the cultural standards of the ideal body [1-32]. Objectification theory states that self-objectification can occur through visual media and interpersonal communication, and leads individuals to view themselves primarily as objects [32]. This manifests as body surveillance, or regular monitoring of one’s physical appearance. It often leads to heightened levels of body shame, which originates from the belief that one has failed to meet the ideal body standards of his or her culture [34]. For the majority of females, the body ideal surrounds thinness [1-6,10], and for the majority of female athletes the body ideal surrounds thinness in conjunction with muscularity, as discussed previously [4,7,8]. Self-objectification and its correlated factors are associated with heightened depression and anxiety, decreased self-esteem, impaired cognitive performance, and restricted cognitive resources [21,34,35,42-45].

The consequences of internalized self-perceptions resulting from self-objectification may lead to a plethora of other health complications, as stated above. Evidence reveals that girls who are exposed to sexualizing/ objectifying media have a greater risk of experiencing body dissatisfaction, lower self-esteem, and depression [41]. Noll and Fredrickson [35] state how self-objectification has a range of emotional and behavioral consequences that eventually may lead to eating disorders, unipolar depression, and sexual dysfunction – more specifically in women. Furthermore, Noll and Fredrickson [35] describe how the Western female body ideal leads to self-objectification: it is internalized in the form of moral ideals due to the shame one typically feels [47]. Due to the presence of the emotion, shame, the individual’s mental health may be harmed [47]. Emotion theorists [47-49] argue that shame can serve as a motivational factor for individuals to change features of the self, in this case, actions that may affect physical appearances such as caloric intake and dieting [50]. As a direct consequence, it is postulated that the shame involved in self-objectification can motivate a woman to engage in behaviors, such as binging and restricting, that increase the risk of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa [32,51]. Slater and Tiggerman [42] found that females had higher levels of appearance anxiety than men and may use compensatory exercise to achieve the thin body ideal. Other studies additionally confirm that appearance anxiety is correlated to self-objectification [42,43,52]. Noll and Fredrickson also found in their study that self-objectification directly contributed to disordered eating [35].

With research from other perspective and longitudinal studies, researchers Grabe, Hyde and Linberg [52] concluded that the body dissatisfaction intertwined with self-objectification is one of the most evidence-based risk factors for bulimia and a predictor of low self-esteem, depression, and obesity. Fredrickson and Roberts [32] found that self-objectification induces shame and anxiety, hinders peak motivational stress, abates the cognizance of internal bodily states, and diminishes mental performance. Fredrikson and Robert reference Csikszentmihayli’s [53] research stating that peak motivational stress is an intrinsic factor that enhances one’s quality of life. The previous studies [32,52,53] emulate the conclusion that due to the emotions of shame and anxiety, individuals who experience self-objectification often experience other mental and emotional declines which, in turn, may increase the risk of disordered eating and eating disorders. Disordered eating patterns usually exist within the constructs of anything that is outside the usual and customary eating patterns. For example, if an individual usually consumes three meals per day and suddenly changes those usual patterns to only one or maybe two meals a day can be classified under disordered eating. These changes in eating behaviors can be the beginning steps towards eating disorders including, but not limited to anorexia nervosa, orthorexia, bulimia and / or compulsive eating disorder. The external pressures to be thin based on a fictional ideal of the perfect body type place an enormous amount of pressure on athletes to be “perfect”. As mentioned, the expectation to perform and be their best is already a stressor that they must face throughout their academic careers as an athlete [32, 52, 53].

Self-objectification has been shown to cause shame and cognitive diminishment [46]. This cognitive diminishment, as well as the belief that physical appearance rather than academic or extracurricular achievement is the best path to power and acceptance, may influence girls’ achievement levels and opportunities later in life” [46]. Additionally, cognitive ability affects an athlete’s performance [54]. McMorris researched how cognitive fatigue affects an athlete’s physical performance and found that mental fatigue negatively impacts submaximal exercise [54]. Cognitive fatigue affects the efficiency of dopaminergic neurons, which help enable motivation needed to overcome physical performance, sustained attention, and enhancement of general motivation [55].

While the objectification theory has been highly studied in females, the literature on males tends to focus on body image disturbances; self-objectification in men has only recently begun to be studied. In Western culture, men are often exposed to media that portray them as muscular, buff, attractive, and fit, and thus emphasize the Western body ideal [18,20-22]. Such media trends have the potential to increase self-objectification in males, as aforementioned in the Men’s Body Ideals in Western Society section above [21-23]. In 2016, researchers Heath, Tod, Kannis-Daymand, and Lovell conducted a study of the objectification theory and muscular dysmorphia, or the obsession with achieving the Western muscular ideal in men [43]. In addition, the researchers [43] found that self-objectification moderates the internalization of the muscular ideal in men and indicates that males are subject to self-objectification due to the body standards set forth by Western society. Research by Let and Pope Jr. demonstrated through a series of brief advertisements of muscular men can have an impact on how men view their bodies leading to muscle dysmorphia [44].

It is important to note that while self-objectification, body surveillance, and body shame levels are generally lower in males, when placed in an objectifying environment such as one that emphasizes the value of their figure (swimming, water polo environments), their proclivity towards self-objectification tends to mirror that of women [2,22]. These factors have an adverse effect on men’s self-esteem, along with numerous downfalls of self-objectification aforementioned, including emotional, attentional, and motivational deficits [21, 34, 35, 42-45, 55].

Disordered Eating

According to Marci Anderson, MS, RD, LDN through the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Disordered Eating can be defined as “attitudes about food, weight, body size, and body shape that are associated with engagement in strict eating and exercise behaviors that jeopardize physical health, emotional stability, and safety,” and Eating Disorders can be defined as “biologically based mental illnesses… characterized by a distorted perception of body image, disturbances in eating, and use of compensatory behaviors (e.g., inappropriate or excessive physical activity, vomiting, or laxative or diuretic use)” [56]. In other words, disordered eating is a behavioral phase of irregular eating patterns that may develop into an eating disorder, which is a diagnosis specified by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Edition 5 (DSM-5) [57]. Disordered eating can lead to a plethora of health consequences that can affect athletes’ athletic performance and overall health [56,58]. Effects include a weakened ability to cope with stressful situations, low energy, reduced heart muscle mass, and decreased heart rate and blood pressure due to a lack of adequate nutrition to combat physical and metabolic stressors [58]. Many individuals who restrict their food consumption to attain an ideal body fail to realize that excessive and prolonged restricted caloric intake can actually harm them by reducing their metabolic rate [59] and altering their hormonal status — stimulating appetite [60] and the desire to eat high-calorie foods resulting in an increased risk for diabetes, hypertension and heart disease [59,61,62].

In competitive sports the exposure to disordered eating patterns in athletes is high [63,64]. Lipson and Sonneville (2017) [65] reported that 17% of female college students across 12 universities were at an increased risk for developing an eating disorder. Furthermore, female athletes were at a higher risk of using compensatory behaviors than non-athlete females while male athletes were at a substantially reduced eating disorder risk than non-athlete males [65].

“Compensatory behaviors was defined as a response of one or more times making ‘yourself sick (vomit) as a means of controlling your shape or weight’, taking ‘laxatives as a means of controlling your shape or weight’, taking ‘diuretics (water pills) or diet pills as a means of controlling your shape or weight’, and/or exercising ‘in a driven or compulsive way as a means of controlling your weight, shape or amount of fat, or to burn off calorie’ in the past four weeks” [65]. Eating disorder risk was assessed by using the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), [66] a validated and established tool, but it was not directly stated which revision of the EDE-Q the researchers utilized [66]. In conclusion, the participants were selected from Healthy Bodies Study (HBS), a population-level, web-based survey that selects a random sample of up to 4000 currently enrolled students who are at least 18 years of age from each participating university [66]. Lipson and Sonneville’s (2017) [65] pivotal research highlights the significance of disordered eating and eating disorders in the female student athlete population contrary to the male student athlete population. Meeting the Western standards of beauty and attractiveness can translate to increased social and economic success depending on one’s cultural subgroup. Therefore, meeting the Western body ideal standards may serve as a further motivation to partake in disordered eating habits [11].

The Role of Social Media Images

One important factor that influences self-objectification and can lead to body consciousness and disordered eating is the role of the media. As previously demonstrated, media content plays an essential role in self-objectification. The bodies of women and men alike have been emphasized in television, print, and other types of media such as social media platforms [66]. According to Moradi and Huang, [34] the objectifying nature of media in the form of images may lead to self-objectification. This is further confirmed by the fact that self-objectifying media has been positively correlated with increased self-objectification in men and women [35,66]. As previously mentioned, researchers at the American Psychological Association found that “media-idealized images have the most harmful and substantial impact on vulnerable individuals (i.e., “internalizers” and “self-objectifiers”), regardless of media characteristics (i.e., frequency and length of exposure, media types) or gender” [67]. With this being said, the American Psychological Association states that men experience objectification less frequently than women in the media [67].

The previous research from Leit and Pope Jr21, Petrie and Greenleaf [63,64], and Moradi and Huang [34] have become the basis of research on the effect of Social Networking Sites (SNS). SNS such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. feature two forms of interpersonal communication, oral and written communication, along with visual media such as images and videos [68]. It is a popular form of mass self-communication for young adults (aged 18-29 years old), 88% of whom have an online social media profile on a SNS.68 ``In 2020, research [69] revealed that the average adult spend three hours a day on social media, in comparison to only 90 minutes in 2012” [70] and 126 minutes in 2016 [69]. Researchers believe that the increase could have been due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but regardless, this uptick was expected since the past trends indicate an increase over time without a pandemic [69].

Further research [71] has indicated that spending excessive time on mobile phones can contribute to mental health concerns in the consequence of decreased social interaction, insufficient sleep, and comparison conflicts, all of which contribute to low self-esteem, negative self-talk, and changes in body image.

With 88% of 18–29-year-old US adults engaging in SNS68 and The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) recent decision [72] allowing athletes to receive endorsements on social media, social media is transforming into a significant force in an athlete’s life. This transformation exemplifies increased social media usage in college students and college athletes, leading to an increase in exposure to media images, thus increasing the chances of exposure to objectifying images. This begs the question, what is the cumulative effect of this increased exposure on an athlete’s health? [21,34,35,41-44,55,73].

Bell and Dunbar (2018) [74] found that objectified images received more “likes” and served as a positive reinforcement, increasing the women’s posting frequency. The increase in posting frequency implies that more self-objectified images are present on social media sites. Research shows that “engaging in objectified self-presentations may have unintended negative interpersonal consequences” [74]. With minimal research on the effects of images on social media present, non-SNS media images abound. The evidence for non-SNS images below, as these images still have the ability to portray similar messages, potentially leading to self-objectification, thus perpetuating the negative consequences as previously mentioned (depression, anxiety, lower self-esteem, impaired cognitive performance) [21-35,41-44,55]. First, a meta-analysis by Roesz et al. [75] on body satisfaction demonstrated that females’ body image was significantly more negative after viewing media images that portrayed the thin body ideal compared to average or plus-sized models and inanimate objects. This body dissatisfaction may cause women to strive to achieve a greater level of thinness [76]. While this study investigated the effects of non-SNS media images, it is highly possible that these results can be extrapolated to SNS scenarios, as SNS display thin ideal images as well. In terms of SNS-specific data, a recent study by de Vries and Peter [77] demonstrated that priming women with objectifying media or similar appearance-based judgment prior to self-portrayal online further increases self-objectification [77]. This finding demonstrates that specific SNS behaviors may lead to increased self-objectification. Finally, the presence of “thinspiration” SNS content, or thin body ideal content that glamorizes harmful behaviors implicit in eating disorders, may increase self-objectification and promote the sexualization of women [8].

The nature of SNS provides easy access to the ideal body image by the quick search of a targeted hashtag [73,78]. For instance, those who are more vulnerable to experiencing body dissatisfaction may be more likely to succumb to thin-ideal messages due to the repeated exposure to (1) idealized images (2) the realization that other women are attaining the ideal body and reaping the associated rewards [78].

Evidence suggests that SNS content may be related to disordered eating. A study by Mabe, Forney, and Keel, [79] involving two large samples of college-aged women found a small yet compelling association between Facebook use and disordered eating. Results indicated that the use of Facebook may drive users to maintain their weight/shape and anxiety, which are both risk factors for disordered eating. It is suggested this may occur just after 20 minutes of use, however, more research needs to be conducted to confirm these outcomes [79]. Furthermore, Grogan [76] and Lin, Namdar, Griffiths and Pakpour [80] suggest that the societal pressures and comparison that social media places on individuals, such as athletes, can perpetuate into stress, anxiety, and depression — all of which are factors in the development of disordered eating [57,63,64].

It is important to note that women are more critically evaluated on SNS than men. This is demonstrated in a study by Manago, Graham, Greenfield and Salimkhan [81] in which female MySpace users ages 18-25 experienced by the paradox of sexualized image presentation: social pressure to post sexualized photos juxtaposed with social judgment such as “slut shaming” [81]. This is consistent with the findings of Heinberg and Thompson, [82] whose study on body image and thin-ideal media reveals that women are depicted as unusually slender in the media, while men are more likely to be depicted closer to a standard male weight. Despite this finding, it is important to note that men are not immune to the effects of SNS either. A meta-analysis by Hausenblas, Campbell, Menzel, Doughty, Levine, and Thompson [83] demonstrated that viewing media images depicting the male Western ideal body led to decreased self-esteem as well as increased anger and depression. While viewing social media images may affect women more intensely, the effects on men are to still be recognized and considered.

As outlined previously, SNS has become a source of societal pressure due to the fact that SNS images can depict the Western culture’s body ideal that may consequently cause body dissatisfaction and may lead to disordered eating patterns [84]. However, it is important to note that body dissatisfaction must be internalized in order for it to result in disordered eating [85]. Additionally, research on OBC scale by McKinley and Hyde [45] demonstrates that disordered eating may be caused by self-objectification, the internalization of onlookers’ perspectives, and body shame. Both influencers increase the risk of disordered eating to achieve societal body ideals [45].

When comparing White women to Black and Asian American women, it has been proposed that White women may exhibit greater body dissatisfaction, disordered eating patterns, and eating disorders than Black and Asian American women [15]. This is likely due to the Western promotion of the thin ideal, which may lead individuals to diet, develop disordered eating patterns, or develop eating disorders in order to meet the cultural standards set before them [55]. When connecting the previously mentioned social media features and the social cognitive theory, it is presumed that this means of learning and exposure of the body ideal may affect beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding food, eating, weight, and physique [2, 52, 86-89].

CONCLUSION

As discussed throughout this review, it is evident that the body ideal is subjective to many external factors that affect both females and males differently as well as ethnicities and cultures. The impact is far reaching and can often result in a host of negative consequences. Furthermore, as discussed, both female and male collegiate athletes are affected by attempting to live up to standards that are unattainable and unrealistic resulting in disordered eating. Moreover, their health becomes compromised and eventually their performance is substandard. Initiating conversations with all relevant players such as, but not limited to athletes, registered dietitian nutritionists, physicians, physical therapists, sports coaches, trainers, and psychologists is imperative to promote a healthy body ideal and prevent negative health consequences in this vulnerable population. Creating this team approach can help to mitigate some of the impending negative consequences that could occur when faced with pressures to be thin. So many athletes are pushed beyond their level of comfort as they are expected to perform not only on and off the field, but also academically, otherwise they are at risk for losing their scholarship. They find themselves faced with challenges that many other students do not have. Consuming foods that promote healthy eating behaviors that sustain their peak performance can be compromised by simple likes on social media. Teaching athletes on how to discern facts versus fiction both on and off the field is something that should be implemented in any collegiate athletics program. Furthermore, identifying those athletes that may be vulnerable and at risk for disordered eating behaviors and potential eating disorders should be identified, monitored, and referred to other health professionals as needed. The RDN can monitor these eating behaviors through extensive nutrition assessments, dietary analyses, and some type of built-in process for those athletes’ showing signs of disordered eating. Understanding the relationship between the external influences such as social media and self-objectification can elevate the identification of those athletes at risk. It is important to continue to conduct further research with a focus on further identification of the external factors on college athletes’ internal cues governing their eating behaviors and experiences.

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13. Parker, S., Nichter, M., Vuckovic, N., Sims, C., & Ritenbaugh, C. (1995). Body image and weight concerns among African American and White adolescent females: Differences that make a difference. Human Organization, 54, 103–114.
14. Jackson, T.D., & Grilo, C.M. “Weight and Eating Concerns in Men and Women in Outpatient Treatment for Substance Abuse,” Eating and Weight Disorders 7 (December 2002): 276-83.
15. Evans, P.C., & McConnell, A.R. (2003). Do racial minorities respond in the same way to mainstream beauty standards? Social comparison processes in Asian, Black, and White women. Self & Identify, 2, 153–167.
16. McCabe, M.P., & McGreevy, S.J. (2011). Role of media and peers on body change strategies among adult men: Is body size important? European Eating Disorders Review, 19, 438 – 446.
17. Ridgeway, R.T., & Tylka, T. L. (2005). College men’s perceptions of ideal body composition and shape. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 6, 209 –220.
18. Law, C., & Labre, M.P. Cultural Standards of Attractiveness: A Thirty-Year Look at Changes in Male Images in Magazines. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 2002; 79(3):697-711.
19. Pope, H.G., Olivardia, R., Gruber, A., & Borowiecki, J. (1999). Evolving ideals of male body image as seen through action toys. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 26(1), 65–72.
20. Daniel, S., Bridges, S.K., & Martens, M.P. (2014). The development and validation of the Male Assessment of Self-Objectification (MASO). Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 15(1), 78.
21. Leit, R.A., & Pope Jr, H.G. Cultural Expectations of Muscularity in Men: The Evolution of Playgirl Centerfolds. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2001; 29(1):90-93.
22. Paulsen, M. (1999). Deconstructing hegemonic masculinity. Youth Studies Australia, 18, 12–17.
23. Galli, N., Petrie, T.A., Reel, J.J., Chatterton, J.M., & Baghurst, T.M. (2014). Assessing the validity of the weight pressures in sport scale for male athletes. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 15(2), 170–180.
24. Frederick, D.A., Buchanan, G.M., & Sadehgi-Azar, L. et al. Desiring the muscular ideal: Men's body satisfaction in the United States, Ukraine, and Ghana. Psychology of Men & Masculinity. 2007; 8(2):103-117.
25. Gill, R. (2005). Body projects and the regulation of normative masculinity. Body & Society, 11(1), 37-62.
26. Obsessed. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obsessed. Accessed September 8, 2021.
27. Self-discipline. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-discipline. Accessed September 8, 2021.
28. Bratland-Sanda, S., Mathisen, T.F., Sundgot-Borgon, J., & Rosenvigne, J.H. Defining compulsive exercise in eating disorders: Acknowledging the exercise paradox and exercise obsessions. Journal of Eating Disorders. 2019; 7(1).
29. Raypole, C., & Legg, T. Obsession vs. compulsion: Understanding the two parts of ocd. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/obsession-vs-compulsion. Published July 30, 2019. Accessed September 8, 2021.
30. Cachelin, F.M., Rebeck, R.M., Chung, G.H., & Pelayo, E. Does ethnicity influence body-size preference? A comparison of body image and body size. Obes Res. 2002; 10(3):158-166.
31. Jung, J., Forbes, G.B. & Chan, P. Global Body and Muscle Satisfaction among College Men in the United States and Hong Kong-China. Sex Roles 63, 104–117 (2010).
32. Fredrickson, B.L., & Roberts, T.A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173–206.
33. Nezlek, J.B., Krohn, W., Wilson, D., & Maruskin, L. (2015). Gender differences in reactions to the sexualization of athletes. The Journal of Social Psychology, 155(1), 1–11.
34. Moradi, B., & Huang, Y.-P. (2008). Objectification theory and psychology of women: A decade of advances and future directions. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32(4), 377–398.
35. Noll, S.M., & Frederickson, B.L. A Mediational Model Linking Self-Objectification, Body Shame, and Disordered Eating. Psychology of Women Quarterly. 1998; 22(4):623-636.
36. Gay, R.K., & Castano, E. My body or my mind: The impact of state and trait objectification on women’s cognitive resources. European Journal of Social Psychology. 2010; 40(5):695-703.
37. Gardner, C.B. Passing by: Street remarks, address rights, and the urban female. In: Sociological Inquiry.; 1980:328-356.
38. Goffman, E. (1979). Gender advertisements. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
39. Mulvey, L. Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. In: Screen.; 1975:6-18.
40. Sommers-Flanagan, J. What's happening on music television? A gender-role content analysis. In: Sommers-Flanagan L, ed. Sex Roles. ; 1993:745-753.
41. Zurbriggen, E.L., Collins, R.L., & Lamb, S., et al. Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls . American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf. Published 2007.
42. Slater, A., & Tiggermann, M. Body Image and Disordered Eating in Adolescent Girls and Boys: A Test of Objectification Theory. Sex Roles 63, 42–49 (2010).
43. Heath, B., Tod, D.A., Kannis-Dymand, L., & Lovell, G.P. The relationship between objectification theory and muscle dysmorphia characteristics in men. Psychology of Men & Masculinity. 2016; 17(3):297-308.
44. Leti, R.A., Gray, J.J., & Pope, H.G. Jr. (2002) The media's representation of the ideal male body: A cause for muscle dysmorphia?. Int. J. Eat. Disord., 31: 334-338.
45. McKinley, N.M., & Hyde, J.S. The objectified body consciousness scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly. 1996; 20(2):181.
46. Lewis, Helen Block. Shame and Guilt in Neurosis. New York: International Universities Press, 1971. Print.
47. Lewis, Michael. Shame: the Exposed Self. New York: Free Press, 1992. Print.
48. Scheff, Thomas J. “Shame and Conformity: The Deference-Emotion System.” American sociological review 53.2 (1988): 395–406.
49. Silberstein, L.R., Striegel-Moore, R.H., & Rodin, J. (1987). Feeling fat: A woman's shame. In H.B. Lewis (Ed.), The role of shame in symptoms formation (pp.89-108).
50. Rodin, J., Silberstein, L., Striegel-Moore, R. Women and weight: A normative discontent. Paper presented at: Nebraska symposium on motivation 1984.
51. Dakanalis, A., Carrà, G., Calogero, R., et al. The developmental effects of media-ideal internalization and self-objectification processes on adolescents' negative body-feelings, dietary restraint, and binge eating. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2015; 24(8):997-1010.
52. Grabe, S., Hyde, J.S., & Lindberg, S.M. Body Objectification and Depression in Adolescents: The Role of Gender, Shame, and Rumination. Psychology of Women Quarterly. 2007; 31(2):164-175.
53. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (Pdf) flow: The psychology of optimal experience. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224927532_Flow_The_Psychology_of_Optimal_Experience. Published January 1, 1990.
54. McMorris, T. Cognitive fatigue effects on physical performance: The role of interoception. Sports Medicine. 2020; 50(10):1703-1708.
55. Bromberg-Martin, E.S., Hikosaka, O., & Nakamura, K. Coding of task reward value in the dorsal raphe nucleus. J Neurosci. 2010; 30(18):6262-6272.
56. Anderson, M. What is disordered eating? EatRight. https://www.eatright.org/health/diseases-and-conditions/eating-disorders/what-is-disordered-eating. Published October 26, 2018. Accessed October 09, 2021.
57. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. 5th ed., American Psychiatric Association, 2013.
58. Stoyel, H., Shanmuganathan-Felton, V., Meyer, C., & Serpell, L. Psychological risk indicators of disordered eating in athletes. PloS one. 2020; 15(5):e0232979.
59. Dulloo, A.G., & Jacquet, J. Adaptive reduction in basal metabolic rate in response to food deprivation in humans: a role for feedback signals from fat stores. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998;68(3):599-606.
60. Lean, M.E., & Malkova, D. Altered gut and adipose tissue hormones in overweight and obese individuals: cause or consequence?. Int J Obes (Lond). 2016; 40(4):622-632.
61. Benton, D. Can artificial sweeteners help control body weight and prevent obesity?. Nutr Res Rev. 2005; 18(1):63-76.
62. Rosenbaum, M., & Leibel, R.L. Adaptive thermogenesis in humans. Int J Obes (Lond). 2010; 34 Suppl 1(0 1):S47-S55.
63. Petrie, T.A., Greenleaf, C., Reel, J. & Carter, J. Prevalence of eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors among male collegiate athletes. Psychology of Men & Masculinity. 2008; 9(4):267.
64. Greenleaf, C., Petrie, T.A., Carter, J., & Reel, J.J. Female Collegiate Athletes: Prevalence of Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating Behaviors. Journal of American College Health. 2009; 57(5):489-496.
65. Lipson, S.K., & Sonneville, K.R. Eating disorder symptoms among undergraduate and graduate students at 12 U.S. colleges and universities. Eat Behav. 2017; 24:81-88.
66. Fairburn, C.G., & Beglin, S.J. Beglin Assessment of eating disorders: Interview or self-report questionnaire? The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 16 (4) (1994), pp. 363-370.
67. Dakanalis, A., Carrà, G., Calogero, R., et al. The developmental effects of media-ideal internalization and self-objectification processes on adolescents' negative body-feelings, dietary restraint, and binge eating. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2015; 24(8):997-1010.
68. Smith, A., & Anderson, M. Social media use 2018: Demographics and statistics. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/. Published April 7, 2021. Accessed October 15, 2021.
69. Wendy. How much time do people spend on social media (11 insights): Whatagraph. https://whatagraph.com/blog/articles/how-much-time-do-people-spend-on-social-media. Published August 31, 2021. Accessed October 15, 2021.
70. Hiley C. How much of Your time is screen time? Uswitch. https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/screentime-report/. Published June 15, 2021. Accessed October 15, 2021.
71. Radigan, M. Screen Time Affects on Mental Health. Discovery Mood & Anxiety Program. https://discoverymood.com/blog/how-does-screen-time-affect-mental-health/. Published April 22, 2021. Accessed October 15, 2021.
72. Board of Governors moves toward allowing student-athlete compensation for endorsements and promotions. NCAA.org - the official site of the NCAA. https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/board-governors-moves-toward-allowing-student-athlete-compensation-endorsements-and-promotions. Published April 19, 2020. Accessed October 15, 2021.
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PEER REVIEW

Not commissioned. Externally peer reviewed.

• Martin, J.B. The Development of Ideal Body Image Perceptions in the United States. Nutrition Today. 2010; 45(3):98-110.
• Dittmar, H., Halliwell, E., & Stirling, E. Understanding the impact of thin media models on women's body-focused affect: the roles of thin-ideal internalization and weight related self-discrepancy activation in experimental exposure effects. J Soc Clin Psychol. 2009; 28:43-72.
• Silverstein, B., Perdue, L., Peterson, B., & Kelly, E. (1986). The role of the mass media in promoting a thin standard of bodily attractiveness for women. Sex Roles, 14(9), 519–532.
• Spitzer, B.L., Henderson, K.A., & Zivian, M.T. (1999). Gender differences in population versus media body sizes: A comparison over four decades. Sex Roles, 40(7–8), 545–565.
• Bozsik, F., Whisenhunt, B.L., Hudson, D.L, Bennett, B., & Lundgren, J.D. Thin Is In? Think Again: The Rising Importance of Muscularity in the Thin Ideal Female Body. Sex Roles. 2018; 79(9/10):609-615.
• Sypeck, M.F., Gray, J. J., & Ahrens, A.H. (2004). No longer just a pretty face: Fashion magazines' depictions of ideal female beauty from 1959 to 1999. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 36(3), 342–347.
• Garner, D.M., Garfinkel, P.E, Schwartz, D., & Thompson, M. Cultural Expectations of Thinness in Women. Psychological Reports. 1980; 47(2):483-491.
• Beckner, B.N., & Record, R.A. (2016). Navigating the thin-ideal in an athletic world: influence of coach communication on female athletes’ body image and health choices. Health Communication, 31(3), 364–373.
• Ghaznavi, J., & Taylor, L,D. Bones, body parts, and sex appeal: An analysis of #thinspiration images on popular social media. Body Image. 2015; 14:54-61.
• Schooler D. Real women have curves: a longitudinal investigation of TV and the body image development of Latina adolescents. J Adolesc Res. 2008; 23:132-153.
• Rodin, J., Silberstein, L., & Striegel-Moore, R. (1984). Women and weight: A normative discontent. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 32, 267–307.
• Warren, C.S., Gleaves, D.H., Cepeda-Bonito, A., Fernandez, M.D.C., & Rodriguez-Ruiz, S. (2005). Ethnicity as a protective factor against internalization of a thin ideal and body dissatisfaction. Int. J. Eat. Disord., 37: 241-249.
• Parker, S., Nichter, M., Vuckovic, N., Sims, C., & Ritenbaugh, C. (1995). Body image and weight concerns among African American and White adolescent females: Differences that make a difference. Human Organization, 54, 103–114.
• Jackson, T.D., & Grilo, C.M. “Weight and Eating Concerns in Men and Women in Outpatient Treatment for Substance Abuse,” Eating and Weight Disorders 7 (December 2002): 276-83.
• Evans, P.C., & McConnell, A.R. (2003). Do racial minorities respond in the same way to mainstream beauty standards? Social comparison processes in Asian, Black, and White women. Self & Identify, 2, 153–167.
• McCabe, M.P., & McGreevy, S.J. (2011). Role of media and peers on body change strategies among adult men: Is body size important? European Eating Disorders Review, 19, 438 – 446.
• Ridgeway, R.T., & Tylka, T. L. (2005). College men’s perceptions of ideal body composition and shape. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 6, 209 –220.
• Law, C., & Labre, M.P. Cultural Standards of Attractiveness: A Thirty-Year Look at Changes in Male Images in Magazines. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 2002; 79(3):697-711.
• Pope, H.G., Olivardia, R., Gruber, A., & Borowiecki, J. (1999). Evolving ideals of male body image as seen through action toys. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 26(1), 65–72.
• Daniel, S., Bridges, S.K., & Martens, M.P. (2014). The development and validation of the Male Assessment of Self-Objectification (MASO). Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 15(1), 78.
• Leit, R.A., & Pope Jr, H.G. Cultural Expectations of Muscularity in Men: The Evolution of Playgirl Centerfolds. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2001; 29(1):90-93.
• Paulsen, M. (1999). Deconstructing hegemonic masculinity. Youth Studies Australia, 18, 12–17.
• Galli, N., Petrie, T.A., Reel, J.J., Chatterton, J.M., & Baghurst, T.M. (2014). Assessing the validity of the weight pressures in sport scale for male athletes. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 15(2), 170–180.
• Frederick, D.A., Buchanan, G.M., & Sadehgi-Azar, L. et al. Desiring the muscular ideal: Men's body satisfaction in the United States, Ukraine, and Ghana. Psychology of Men & Masculinity. 2007; 8(2):103-117.
• Gill, R. (2005). Body projects and the regulation of normative masculinity. Body & Society, 11(1), 37-62.
• Obsessed. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obsessed. Accessed September 8, 2021.
• Self-discipline. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-discipline. Accessed September 8, 2021.
• Bratland-Sanda, S., Mathisen, T.F., Sundgot-Borgon, J., & Rosenvigne, J.H. Defining compulsive exercise in eating disorders: Acknowledging the exercise paradox and exercise obsessions. Journal of Eating Disorders. 2019; 7(1).
• Raypole, C., & Legg, T. Obsession vs. compulsion: Understanding the two parts of ocd. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/obsession-vs-compulsion. Published July 30, 2019. Accessed September 8, 2021.
• Cachelin, F.M., Rebeck, R.M., Chung, G.H., & Pelayo, E. Does ethnicity influence body-size preference? A comparison of body image and body size. Obes Res. 2002; 10(3):158-166.
• Jung, J., Forbes, G.B. & Chan, P. Global Body and Muscle Satisfaction among College Men in the United States and Hong Kong-China. Sex Roles 63, 104–117 (2010).
• Fredrickson, B.L., & Roberts, T.A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173–206.
• Nezlek, J.B., Krohn, W., Wilson, D., & Maruskin, L. (2015). Gender differences in reactions to the sexualization of athletes. The Journal of Social Psychology, 155(1), 1–11.
• Moradi, B., & Huang, Y.-P. (2008). Objectification theory and psychology of women: A decade of advances and future directions. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32(4), 377–398.
• Noll, S.M., & Frederickson, B.L. A Mediational Model Linking Self-Objectification, Body Shame, and Disordered Eating. Psychology of Women Quarterly. 1998; 22(4):623-636.
• Gay, R.K., & Castano, E. My body or my mind: The impact of state and trait objectification on women’s cognitive resources. European Journal of Social Psychology. 2010; 40(5):695-703.
• Gardner, C.B. Passing by: Street remarks, address rights, and the urban female. In: Sociological Inquiry.; 1980:328-356.
• Goffman, E. (1979). Gender advertisements. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Mulvey, L. Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. In: Screen.; 1975:6-18.
• Sommers-Flanagan, J. What's happening on music television? A gender-role content analysis. In: Sommers-Flanagan L, ed. Sex Roles. ; 1993:745-753.
• Zurbriggen, E.L., Collins, R.L., & Lamb, S., et al. Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls . American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf. Published 2007.
• Slater, A., & Tiggermann, M. Body Image and Disordered Eating in Adolescent Girls and Boys: A Test of Objectification Theory. Sex Roles 63, 42–49 (2010).
• Heath, B., Tod, D.A., Kannis-Dymand, L., & Lovell, G.P. The relationship between objectification theory and muscle dysmorphia characteristics in men. Psychology of Men & Masculinity. 2016; 17(3):297-308.
• Leti, R.A., Gray, J.J., & Pope, H.G. Jr. (2002) The media's representation of the ideal male body: A cause for muscle dysmorphia?. Int. J. Eat. Disord., 31: 334-338.
• McKinley, N.M., & Hyde, J.S. The objectified body consciousness scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly. 1996; 20(2):181.
• Lewis, Helen Block. Shame and Guilt in Neurosis. New York: International Universities Press, 1971. Print.
• Lewis, Michael. Shame: the Exposed Self. New York: Free Press, 1992. Print.
• Scheff, Thomas J. “Shame and Conformity: The Deference-Emotion System.” American sociological review 53.2 (1988): 395–406.
• Silberstein, L.R., Striegel-Moore, R.H., & Rodin, J. (1987). Feeling fat: A woman's shame. In H.B. Lewis (Ed.), The role of shame in symptoms formation (pp.89-108).
• Rodin, J., Silberstein, L., Striegel-Moore, R. Women and weight: A normative discontent. Paper presented at: Nebraska symposium on motivation 1984.
• Dakanalis, A., Carrà, G., Calogero, R., et al. The developmental effects of media-ideal internalization and self-objectification processes on adolescents' negative body-feelings, dietary restraint, and binge eating. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2015; 24(8):997-1010.
• Grabe, S., Hyde, J.S., & Lindberg, S.M. Body Objectification and Depression in Adolescents: The Role of Gender, Shame, and Rumination. Psychology of Women Quarterly. 2007; 31(2):164-175.
• Csikszentmihalyi, M. (Pdf) flow: The psychology of optimal experience. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224927532_Flow_The_Psychology_of_Optimal_Experience. Published January 1, 1990.
• McMorris, T. Cognitive fatigue effects on physical performance: The role of interoception. Sports Medicine. 2020; 50(10):1703-1708.
• Bromberg-Martin, E.S., Hikosaka, O., & Nakamura, K. Coding of task reward value in the dorsal raphe nucleus. J Neurosci. 2010; 30(18):6262-6272.
• Anderson, M. What is disordered eating? EatRight. https://www.eatright.org/health/diseases-and-conditions/eating-disorders/what-is-disordered-eating. Published October 26, 2018. Accessed October 09, 2021.
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. 5th ed., American Psychiatric Association, 2013.
• Stoyel, H., Shanmuganathan-Felton, V., Meyer, C., & Serpell, L. Psychological risk indicators of disordered eating in athletes. PloS one. 2020; 15(5):e0232979.
• Dulloo, A.G., & Jacquet, J. Adaptive reduction in basal metabolic rate in response to food deprivation in humans: a role for feedback signals from fat stores. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998;68(3):599-606.
• Lean, M.E., & Malkova, D. Altered gut and adipose tissue hormones in overweight and obese individuals: cause or consequence?. Int J Obes (Lond). 2016; 40(4):622-632.
• Benton, D. Can artificial sweeteners help control body weight and prevent obesity?. Nutr Res Rev. 2005; 18(1):63-76.
• Rosenbaum, M., & Leibel, R.L. Adaptive thermogenesis in humans. Int J Obes (Lond). 2010; 34 Suppl 1(0 1):S47-S55.
• Petrie, T.A., Greenleaf, C., Reel, J. & Carter, J. Prevalence of eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors among male collegiate athletes. Psychology of Men & Masculinity. 2008; 9(4):267.
• Greenleaf, C., Petrie, T.A., Carter, J., & Reel, J.J. Female Collegiate Athletes: Prevalence of Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating Behaviors. Journal of American College Health. 2009; 57(5):489-496.
• Lipson, S.K., & Sonneville, K.R. Eating disorder symptoms among undergraduate and graduate students at 12 U.S. colleges and universities. Eat Behav. 2017; 24:81-88.
• Fairburn, C.G., & Beglin, S.J. Beglin Assessment of eating disorders: Interview or self-report questionnaire? The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 16 (4) (1994), pp. 363-370.
• Dakanalis, A., Carrà, G., Calogero, R., et al. The developmental effects of media-ideal internalization and self-objectification processes on adolescents' negative body-feelings, dietary restraint, and binge eating. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2015; 24(8):997-1010.
• Smith, A., & Anderson, M. Social media use 2018: Demographics and statistics. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/. Published April 7, 2021. Accessed October 15, 2021.
• Wendy. How much time do people spend on social media (11 insights): Whatagraph. https://whatagraph.com/blog/articles/how-much-time-do-people-spend-on-social-media. Published August 31, 2021. Accessed October 15, 2021.
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