The Impact of Different Forms of #fitspiration Imagery on Body Image, Mood, and Self-Objectification among Young Women

AbstractThe present study experimentally examined the impact of different forms of inspirational fitness images ( “fitspiration”) on women’s body image. Australian female participants (n = 152, 17–30 years-old;Mage = 21.55,SD = 3.94) were randomly assigned to view fitspiration media which depicted the body in a functional (performing exercise) or non-functional (posed) way, with or without accompanying appearance-focused text. There were no main effects of image type or text presence for body satisfaction, mood, or st ate self-objectification. However, state body satisfaction decreased and negative mood increased over time following exposure to the fitspiration images. Trait self-objectification moderated the impact of image type and text on state body satisfaction, such that viewing functional images presented w ith appearance-focused text resulted in poorer body satisfaction for women with higher trait self-objectification, but not for those with lower self-objectification. The findings demonstrate that irrespective of focus or presence of text, exposure to fitspiration images decreases body satisfaction a nd increases negative mood, highlighting the potential negative consequences of engaging with fitspiration media.
Source: Sex Roles - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research