By Melissa Schorr

NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters Health) - Men's and women's perceptions of their body weight differ, researchers report, with women of normal weight more likely to view themselves as too fat, while men of normal weight consider themselves too skinny.

"When we take a look at the way we view our bodies and the impact on our happiness, our self-concept, it's different for men and women because society puts pressure on women to be thin and men to be large," study co-author Dr. Donald R. McCreary, a former research scientist with the Regina Health District in Saskatchewan, Canada, now at the Defense and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine in Toronto, told Reuters Health.

McCreary and his colleague Stanley W. Sadava, a professor of psychology at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, investigated how perceptions of ideal body weight and levels of happiness differ between men and women. They theorized that societal influences such as the media shape people's perceptions of their body size, providing thinner-than-average role models for women and bulkier-than-normal ones for men.

The researchers surveyed 813 adults ages 19 to 39. The participants reported their height and weight, and answered additional questions about their perceptions of their own weight, as well as their attractiveness, life satisfaction and overall health.

The researchers found that 31% of the women deemed to be of normal body weight perceived themselves to be overweight, compared with only 5% of the men of normal body weight. In contrast, 25% of the normal-weight men believed they were underweight, compared with just 5% of the women of normal body weight.

The findings were published in the journal Psychology of Men & Masculinity.

In addition, nearly half of the men assessed as overweight perceived themselves to be of a normal weight, compared with only 4% of overweight women. And compared with their female counterparts, overweight men were more likely to consider themselves attractive. By contrast, underweight women perceived themselves as more attractive and healthier compared with underweight men's views of themselves.

The researchers note that these misperceptions of weight can be detrimental to both genders: normal-weight women who see themselves as "fat" could diet excessively and develop eating disorders such as anorexia, while overweight men who see themselves as thin may not perceive a need to lose weight for health reasons.

Normal-weight men who see themselves as thin may also turn to dangerous steroids to bulk up, McCreary added.

SOURCE: Psychology of Men & Masculinity 2001;2:108-116.

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