How do you define body image? Exploring conceptual gaps in understandings of body image at an exercise facility

• Published in: Body image 2017-12, Vol.23, p.69-79
• Main Authors: Bailey, K. Alysse, Gammage, Kimberley L., van Ingen, Cathy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Body Image - psychology; Body image definitions; Body Weight; Diverse populations; Exercise - psychology; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Negative body image; Positive body image; Qualitative; Self Concept; Sex Factors; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1740-1445; 1873-6807
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.08.003

•Participants diverse in age, ability, and health were from an exercise facility.•Participants varied greatly in how they understood and defined body image.•Stereotypical assumptions and limited knowledge about body image were found.•Results indicate that more knowledge translation about body image is needed.•Body image interventions should educate about what body image is and is not. The definition of body image has evolved within research; however, less is known about the layperson’s understanding of the construct. This study explored how members and student trainees of an exercise facility (designed for older adults, people with physical disability, and those with cardiac complications) defined body image. Nineteen participants completed a one-on-one interview, and seven of those participants took part in six additional focus group meetings. The following main themes were found: stereotypical assumptions about body image (e.g., it is solely a person’s weight or merely a woman’s issue), body image continua for positive and negative body image, degree of complexity of body image dimensions, broad considerations of body image (e.g., it is self-esteem), and limited knowledge about body image. These findings suggest a need for knowledge translation between researchers and the general public which informs future body image program design.