Perceptual & Motor Skills: Perception 2014, 119, 1, 203-214. © Perceptual & Motor Skills 2014
INFLUENCE OF YOGA ON BODY IMAGE SATISFACTION IN MEN1 MARY FLAHERTY School of Psychology and Social Science, Edith Cowan University Summary.—The aim of this study was to examine the influence of yoga practice on body image satisfaction in men. Male Figure Drawings were used to explore body image satisfaction in yoga beginners (n = 26, M age = 40.3 yr., SD = 11.6), experienced yoga practitioners (n = 22, M age = 46.4 yr., SD = 11.6), and non-yoga practicing aerobic and weight training exercisers (n = 34, M age = 41.2 yr., SD = 11.9). Satisfaction was significantly higher among the yoga groups than the exercisers. There was no statistical difference between the body satisfaction scores of the experienced yoga group and the beginner yoga students. This may suggest that individuals drawn to yoga have greater body satisfaction than exercisers, and that regular yoga practice possibly further increases body satisfaction.
The concept of body image satisfaction-dissatisfaction refers to individuals’ beliefs about their appearance, such as beliefs about their attractiveness or how well they match their personal ideal (Cash, 2011). Body image dissatisfaction is one of the factors linked to negative psychological outcomes, such as depression (Noles, Cash, & Winstead, 1985; Stice & Bearman, 2001) and disordered eating (Sunday, Halmi, Werdann, & Levey, 1992; Cash & Deagle, 1997). Clinicians and prevention experts in the field of eating disorders are always looking for protective or positive influences on body image (Calogero & Pedrotty, 2007). Increasingly, yoga techniques have been suggested to improve both physical and mental health (Rocha, Ribeiro, Rocha, Sousa, Albuquerque, Ribeiro, et al., 2012), to be a possible positive influence on body image satisfaction (Delaney & Anthis, 2010), and to be a potential therapy for eating disorders (Carei, Fyfe-Johnson, Breuner, & Brown, 2010). Yoga is a mind-body exercise, with an emphasis on non-judgmental awareness of the felt experience of the body and responsiveness to body sensations (Schiffmann, 1996). Hatha yoga, which includes asanas (body postures) and pranayama (breath regulation), among other things, encourages the practitioner to pay attention to the awareness of bodily signals (body awareness) (Mehling, Wrubel, Daubenmier, Price, Kerr, Silow, et al., 2011) and to synchronize breath with movement (Iyengar, 1993). Preliminary evidence indicates that yoga is associated with increased body satisfaction. Impett, Daubenmier, and Hirschman (2006) found that participation in a 2 mo. Anusara yoga (a modern school of hatha yoga) proAddress correspondence to Mary Flaherty by e-mail ([email protected]).
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DOI 10.2466/27.50.PMS.119c17z1
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gram was associated with increased body awareness and satisfaction. Similar trends have been reported in other yoga intervention studies (Rani & Rao, 1994). Female participants practicing yoga in a non-intervention, more naturalistic situation also had high body satisfaction (Dittmann & Freedman, 2009). In a study comparing samples of women, one of which practiced yoga and the other aerobic exercise, Daubenmier (2005) found that the yoga practitioners had greater body satisfaction than their aerobic exercising peers (p < .05). In addition, more time spent doing yoga per week was associated with increased satisfaction, while more time doing aerobics per week was associated with greater disordered eating attitudes (le Grange & Eisler, 1993; Brehm & Steffen, 1998). Daubenmier (2005) stressed the importance of distinguishing between body-oriented exercises, such as aerobic exercise, and mind-body exercises, such as yoga, to understand the complex relationship between exercise, body satisfaction, and disordered eating in women. Participants in yoga classes that were more psycho-spiritual or mind-focused showed significantly greater body satisfaction (p < .05) than those whose purpose was primarily physical exercise (Delaney & Anthis, 2010). Exercise is an activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive and has as a final or intermediate objective the improvement or maintenance of physical fitness (Caspersen, Powell, & Christenson, 1985). It has been suggested that exercise may be a way to increase body image satisfaction (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997; Campbell & Hausenblas, 2009; Appleton, 2013). However, it has also been shown that exercise can in some cases be harmful in terms of increased body dissatisfaction (Spink, 1992; Hausenblas & Symons Downs, 2001). Participants in aesthetically-based sports, or sports emphasizing the body's physical appearance (such as dance and gymnastics), report decreased body image satisfaction (Radell, Adame, & Cooke, 2002) and disordered eating behaviors (Smolak, Murnen, & Ruble, 2000). Abbott and Barber (2011) found that adolescent girls who participated in organized sports, such as netball and soccer, viewed their bodies in a more functional manner than physically active girls who walked and used the gym (Cohen's d = 0.75), while those who participated in gym-based physical exercise had a more accentuated awareness of observers' perspectives and the need to adhere to body ideals than did the sports participants (Cohen's d = 0.21) (see also Pritchard & Tiggemann, 2010). For the remainder of this paper, the term “exercise” will be used to refer to gym-based exercise including aerobics and weight training rather than running or team sports. Across the lifespan, women are at higher risk of having negative body image than men (Hayslip, Cooper, Dougherty, & Cook, 1997; Feingold & Mazzella, 1998). Garner (1997) estimated that 43% of men and 56% of women are dissatisfied with their bodies. The relationship of body image satisfaction to physical scales, such as Body Mass Index (BMI), is
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complex, some researchers finding no relationship between them (Foster, Wadden, & Vogt, 1997; Sarwer, Wadden, & Foster, 1998). Most women who are dissatisfied with their bodies desire a lower BMI, striving for a social standard for bodily attractiveness based on a thin ideal (Thompson & Heingerg, 1999). Men often aspire to increased BMI (Davis & Cowles, 1991; Friedman, Reichman, Costinzo, & Musante, 2012), the motivation being to acquire the muscular ideal (i.e., the addition of lean muscle mass and its distribution) (McCreary & Sassy, 2000; Lorenzen, Grieve, & Thomas, 2004; McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2004; Buccianeri, Serrano, Pastula, & Corning, 2014). Olivardia, Pope, Borowiecki, and Cohane (2004) reported substantial body image dissatisfaction among college-age males. Self-esteem was significantly negatively correlated with body dissatisfaction and was positively correlated with perceived muscularity. Phillips and Castle (2001) reported an increase in men “…dissatisfied with, preoccupied with, and even impaired by concerns about their appearance” (p. 1015). This is reflected with an increase in cosmetic surgery in males and in the incidence of men with eating disorders (Elgin & Pritchard, 2006). Pope, Phillips, and Olivardia (2000) note that body image is a hidden problem that men are not supposed to talk about. They argue that, “unlike women, men labor under a social taboo against expressing such feelings” (p. 5). Although yoga is widely practiced by men (Birdee, Legedza, Saper, Bertisch, Eisenberg, & Phillips, 2008), a thorough review of the literature revealed that the majority of research on yoga and body image (e.g., Daubenmier, 2005; Pritchard & Tiggemann, 2008; Dittmann & Freedman, 2009; Delaney & Anthis, 2010; Van Puymbroeck, Schmid, Shinew, & Hsieh, 2011) has focused only on women. In a study on yoga and embodiment, Impett, et al. (2006) had a sample of 20 women and 3 men. Research has demonstrated trends that illustrate the growing importance of the mesomorphic muscular body among men in Western culture (McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2004). Muscle dysmorphia is estimated at 9% of the male population (Olivardia, 2001). There is a growing preoccupation with muscularity leading to increased steroid use and excessive workout routines (Phillips & Dufresne, 2002). Twenty-five percent of the adults in the U.S. with eating disorders are men (Hudson, Hiripi, Pope, & Kessler, 2007). Men's body image dissatisfaction has tripled in the previous 25 years, from 15% to 45% of all Western men (Gregor, 2004), Given these findings, research suggests that yoga may have a positive effect on women, so a study of the association of yoga with body image in men is timely. To summarize, research suggests women who practice yoga have greater body image satisfaction than those who exercise (Daubenmier, 2005; Pritchard & Tiggemann, 2008). Little or no research has been published on the influence of yoga practice on male body image satisfaction.
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Studies on women have proposed that it is yoga practice itself that affects body image. However, an alternative explanation for the results is that women who are drawn to practice yoga may already have greater body image satisfaction than those drawn to exercise. Hypothesis 1. Men who practice yoga will have higher body image satisfaction than those who exercise. Hypothesis 2. Men with experience in yoga will have greater body image satisfaction than their peers just beginning yoga. METHOD Participants The sample in this cross-sectional study consisted of 82 male participants (M = 42.3 yr., SD = 11.9, range = 18 to 69). They were divided into three groups: 22 experienced yoga practitioners (M age = 46.4 yr., SD = 11.6), 26 beginners to yoga (M age = 40.3 yr., SD = 11.6), and 34 exercisers (M = 41.2 yr., SD = 11.9). All groups were age-matched (F2, 79 = 1.88, p = .15). There was no significant difference between the three groups regarding their current or perceived body shape, as measured by the Figure Drawing scale (beginner yoga and experienced yoga: Mann-Whitney U = 250, z = −.77, p = .46, r = .11; beginner yoga and exercisers: Mann-Whitney U = 418, z = −.36, p = .71, r = .04; experienced yoga and exercisers: Mann-Whitney U = 316, z = −1.00, p = .31, r = .13), showing that perceptually, at least, they had similar body types. The experienced yoga and exercise participants were matched for years of experience (yoga: M = 10.8 yr., SD = 6.4; exercise: M = 13.9 yr., SD = 11.4; t54 = −1.18, p = .25; mean difference = −3.13, 95%CI = −8.48 to 2.21; η2 = 0.02) and hours of practice per wk. (yoga: M = 6.6 hr., SD = 3.2; exercise: M = 7.3, SD = 3.5; t54 = −0.77, p = .44; mean difference = −0.71, 95%CI = −2.59, 1.15; η2 = 0.01). As it was necessary to recruit participants who had just started yoga, the beginner yoga group had to have signed on for their first yoga class 1 wk. or less prior to the study and not be currently (or in the previous 2 yr.) taking aerobic classes or weight training. To qualify for the experienced yoga group, participants had to have practiced yoga for at least 2 yr., an average of 3 times per wk. for 1 to 2 hr. each session, and to not currently (or in the previous 2 yr.) be engaged in aerobic or weight training classes. To be eligible for the exercise group, participants were required to have been weight training and aerobic training at moderate intensity for least 2 yr., with an average of 3 times per wk. for 1 to 2 hr. each session, and not currently (or in the previous 2 yr.) practicing yoga, Pilates, or any martial arts. Volunteer yoga and exercise participants were primarily recruited from yoga studios and fitness centers in Perth and Queensland.
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Measures Demographic questionnaire.—Age, ethnic background, current involvement and history of experience with yoga, aerobic, and gym-based exercise were measured via self-report. Participants were asked to indicate any physical activities they participated in currently and in the past, how many hours per week they spent on the activity and for how many months and years they had been doing it. Body image.—There is evidence of robust and large effects for the use of figural rating scales (Fingeret, Gleaves, & Pearson, 2004) to measure body image dissatisfaction. As scales containing muscular figures have been recommended for use with men (Drewnowski & Yee, 1987; Lynch & Zellner, 1999; Cafri & Thompson, 2004) over those varying exclusively along the dimension of body fat (Thompson & Gray, 1995), or inferred from a physical scale such as BMI, the scale developed by Lynch and Zellner (1999) was used to measure body image dissatisfaction with the male participants. This is a silhouette scale containing nine male figures arranged in terms of increasing muscularity on a 9-point scale, 1 being the thinnest and least muscular, and 9 being the most muscular. The scale has acceptable test-retest reliabilities for current (r = .88) and ideal (r = .71) ratings (Lynch & Zellner, 1999). Procedure The measures were completed in yoga studios (for the yoga participants) or in a room at gyms (for the exercisers). Participants completed the Demographic Questionnaire and the Male Figure Drawings (Lynch & Zellner, 1999). For the latter measure, they responded to two items: (a) “Please choose the image that most closely resembles your own body” (current) and (b) “Please choose the image that you would ideally like to have” (ideal). Using their estimations, the discrepancy between the current figure minus the ideal figure was used to calculate the body image dissatisfaction. This formula is generally accepted as an index of body dissatisfaction (Williamson, Gleaves, Watkins, & Schlundt, 1993; Thompson, 1995). Larger scores show greater body image dissatisfaction. The study had approval from Edith Cowan University's (ECU) Ethical Approval Review Board. RESULTS As the body figural rating measures were ordinal, a non-parametric approach was used for analysis. Perceived current body shape, ideal body shape, and the body image dissatisfaction scores for the three groups are presented in Table 1. The experienced yoga practitioners had significantly lower body dissatisfaction than those who exercised (Mann-Whitney U = 184, z = −3.67, p = .0001, r = −.49). Body dissatisfaction scores of the yoga beginners did not differ significantly from those of their experienced yoga peers (Mann-Whitney U = 231, z = −1.26, p = .21, r = .18). However, the yoga
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M. FLAHERTY TABLE 1 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS FOR PERCEIVED CURRENT BODY SHAPE, IDEAL BODY SHAPE, AND BODY IMAGE DISSATISFACTION Group
Current
Body Image Dissatisfaction
Ideal
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
Experienced yoga
4.73
1.16
4.91
0.97
0.45
0.51
Beginner yoga
4.88
0.95
5.15
0.88
0.73
0.72
Exercise
4.97
1.06
5.88
1.20
1.21
1.04
beginners had significantly lower body dissatisfaction than the exercise group (Mann-Whitney U = 318, z = −2.09, p = .04, r = .26). The exercise group desired enhanced muscularity; their ideal body shapes were significantly more muscular than their current perceptions of their bodies (t33 = −4.05, p = .0005, Cohen’s d = –1.41). However, this was not evident among the yoga groups; there was no significant difference between the current and ideal body image perceptions of either the beginner yoga group (t25 = −1.37, p = .18) or the experienced yoga group (t21 = −1.28, p = .21). Scores throughout revealed a preference to being more muscular. DISCUSSION Body image satisfaction was higher among the group of men who practiced yoga than in the exercise group, supporting Hypothesis 1. There was no significant difference in body image scores of those new to yoga and those who had experience in yoga, so Hypothesis 2 was not supported. Unexpectedly, the yoga beginners had lower mean body image dissatisfaction than the exercise group. In combination with Pritchard and Tiggemann's (2005) findings that exercising within fitness centers is associated with higher self-objectification, exercising in gyms might lead to increased body image dissatisfaction. Alternatively, it may be that individuals drawn to yoga may have greater body image satisfaction than general aerobic or weight-lifting exercisers. In this study, the combined groups (both beginners and experienced) who practiced yoga had significantly lower body image dissatisfaction than the group that exercised. This finding is similar to findings on body image satisfaction among women (Daubenmier, 2005; Pritchard & Tiggemann, 2008). However, all the male participants, when dissatisfied with their current shape, wanted to be heavier and more muscular, replicating previous findings (Cohane & Pope, 2001; Swami & Tovee, 2005; Ricciardelli, McCabe, Lillis, & Thomas, 2006). In contrast, studies with female participants and body image satisfaction have been found to perceive their body shape as heavier than ideal (Tiggemann, 2006).
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Yoga may help the practitioner to have an increased perception of ongoing bodily sensations compared with yoga-naïve controls (David, Fiori, & Aglioti, 2014; Flaherty & Connolly, in press). Participants who scored lower on measures of interoceptive ability (awareness of the internal state of one's body) had higher body dissatisfaction and more symptoms of eating disorders than those who scored higher on interoceptive ability (Pollatos, Kurz, Albrecht, Schreder, Kleemann, Schopf, et al., 2008; Peat & Muehlenkamp, 2011). In a randomized controlled clinical trial, adolescents who did yoga classes with an emphasis on the internal experience of the body's sensations and breathing showed greater reduction in their eating disorders than controls who did not do yoga (Carei, et al., 2010). The act of observing and evaluating one's own appearance from an outside perspective is termed “body objectification” (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), and research has suggested that it negatively affects people in terms of body image disturbance as a result of social pressure to conform to social standards of body shape appearance (Cusumano & Thompson, 1997). Cardio-based exercise in gym settings was positively associated with self-objectification among female participants (r570 = .15), while participation in “yoga-based fitness classes” was related to lower self-objectification (r570 = −.19) (Pritchard & Tiggemann, 2008). Further research with self-objectification among men may shed light on the increasing trends in male body image dissatisfaction (McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2004). The results of the current study suggest that yoga-based exercise is less associated with body image dissatisfaction than gym-based exercise among men. There was no statistical difference between the body image satisfaction scores of the male beginner yoga students and their advanced yoga peers. This finding brings into question the assumption that yoga causes an improvement in body image satisfaction (Daubenmier, 2005; Delaney & Anthis, 2010). It is possible that men who are attracted to mind-body exercise such as yoga are less concerned with their muscularity than those who are drawn to gym-based exercise. Even though yoga interventions (Rani & Rao, 1994; Impett, et al., 2006) have shown increased body awareness and satisfaction and decreased body objectification, it is uncertain as to how long these effects remain. However, while there was no significant difference between the current body image of the exercisers and that of the yoga groups, the experienced yoga practitioners in the current study showed marginally higher acceptance of their body shape than the beginners. This may suggest that yoga practice may further increase body satisfaction and merits longitudinal investigation.
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Limitations and Conclusions Limitations concerning some aspects of the study design deserve comment. First, the exercise participants did a variety of cardio-based and weight-based exercises, but reported them under a blanket term “exercise.” Pritchard and Tiggemann (2008) reported poorer body image outcomes in women with cardio-based exercises, while participation in weight-based exercises was not related to body image concern. It would have been more informative if these two groups could have been considered separately. Second, numerous problems have been identified with figure rating measures (Gardner & Brown, 2010). Accurate measurement of muscle appearance attitudes is a necessary first step prior to the assessment of this construct's relationship to relevant outcomes, such as eating disorders and steroid use. Third, it would have been informative to include a group of participants who were beginners to weight and aerobic training, as they could have acted as a comparison group to the yoga beginners and thus added further information as to the motivations that underlie the choice of a particular kind of exercise and an insight into potential body image issues. Finally, it is possible that the timing and context of administering the scales may have influenced the participants' body satisfaction, and this was not controlled. For example, yoga might be more likely to influence body image attitude immediately after practicing or the next day. In terms of context, the influence of yoga may differ depending on whether a person is practicing alone or in a class of advanced students. Future research could employ a more refined approach to examining the effects of yoga. In addition, this research may benefit from a qualitative approach to contribute to understanding the underlying aspects of body image dissatisfaction as well as a longitudinal design to monitor possible changes in body image over the course of an ongoing yoga practice. A study by Avalos and Tylka (2006) reported that body appreciation (unconditional approval and respect of the body) and an emphasis on body function rather than body appearance was related to “intuitive eating” (i.e., eating based on physiological hunger and satiety cues rather than situational and emotional cues), now recognized as an adaptive eating style (Tribole & Resch, 1995). Body image satisfaction is associated with greater awareness of bodily signals (i.e., internal hunger and satiety) and a greater tendency to respond appropriately to these signals (Avalos, Tylka, & Wood-Barcalow, 2005; Tylka, 2006). However, poor body image may encourage people to spend more time attending to their outer appearance than the functioning of their bodies (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Research suggests that yoga may be a potential therapy for eating disorders because it enhances interoception (Tsakiris, Tajadura-Jimenez, & Costantini, 2011), contributing to greater awareness of bodily sensations
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ROCHA, K. K. F., RIBEIRO, A. M., ROCHA, K. C. F., SOUSA, M. B. C., ALBUQUERQUE, F. S., RIBEIRO, S., & SILVA, R. H. (2012) Improvement in physiological and psychological parameters after 6 months of yoga practice. Consciousness and Cognition, 21, 843-850. SARWER, D. B., WADDEN, T. A., & FOSTER, G. D. (1998) Assessment of body image dissatisfaction in obese women: specificity, severity and clinical significance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66(4), 651-654. SCHIFFMANN, E. (1996) Yoga: the spirit and practice of moving into stillness. New York: Pocket Books. SMOLAK, L., MURNEN, S. K., & RUBLE, A. E. (2000) Female athletes and eating problems: a meta-analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 27, 371-380. SPINK, K. S. (1992) Relation of anxiety about social physique to location of participation in physical activity. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 74(3, pt. 2), 1075-1078. STICE, E., & BEARMAN, S. K. (2001) Body-image and eating disturbances prospectively predict increases in depressive symptoms in adolescent girls: a growth curve analysis. Developmental Psychology, 37, 597-607. SUNDAY, S. R., HALMI, K. A., WERDANN, L., & LEVEY, C. (1992) Comparison of body size estimation and eating disorder inventory scores in anorexia and bulimia patients with obese, and restrained and unrestrained controls. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 11(2), 133-149. SWAMI, V., & TOVEE, M. J. (2005) Male physical attractiveness in Britain and Malaysia: a cross-cultural study. Body Image, 2, 383-393. THOMPSON, J. K. (1995) Assessment of body image. In D. B. Allison (Ed.), Handbook of assessment methods for eating behaviors and weight-related problems. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Pp. 119-148. THOMPSON, J. K., & HEINGERG, L. J. (1999) The media's influence on body image disturbance and eating disorders: we've reviled them, now can we rehabilitate them? Journal of Social Issues, 55(2), 339-353. THOMPSON, M. A., & GRAY, J. J. (1995) Development and validation of a new body image assessment tool. Journal of Personality Assessment, 64(2), 258-269. TIGGEMANN, M. (2006) The role of media exposure in adolescent girls’ body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness: prospective results. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 25, 523-541. TRIBOLE, E., & RESCH, E. (1995) Intuitive eating: a recovery book for the chronic dieter. New York: St. Martin's Press. TSAKIRIS, M., TAJADURA-JIMENEZ, A., & COSTANTINI, M. (2011) Just a heartbeat away from one's body: interoceptive sensitivity predicts malleability of body-representations. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 278, 2470-2476. TYLKA, T. L. (2006) Development and psychometric evaluation of a measure of intuitive eating. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 226-240. VAN PUYMBROECK, M., SCHMID, A., SHINEW, K. J., & HSIEH, P. C. (2011) Influence of Hatha yoga on physical activity constraints, physical fitness, and body image of breast cancer survivors: a pilot study. International Journal of Yoga Therapy, 21, 49-60. WILLIAMSON, D. A., GLEAVES, D. H., WATKINS, P. C., & SCHLUNDT, D. J. (1993) Validation of the self-ideal body size discrepancy as a measure of body dissatisfaction. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioural Assessment, 15, 57-68. Accepted June 25, 2014.
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INFLUENCE OF YOGA ON BODY IMAGE SATISFACTION IN MEN1 MARY FLAHERTY School of Psychology and Social Science, Edith Cowan University Summary.—The aim of this study was to examine the influence of yoga practice on body image satisfaction in men. Male Figure Drawings were used to explore body image satisfaction in yoga beginners (n = 26, M age = 40.3 yr., SD = 11.6), experienced yoga practitioners (n = 22, M age = 46.4 yr., SD = 11.6), and non-yoga practicing aerobic and weight training exercisers (n = 34, M age = 41.2 yr., SD = 11.9). Satisfaction was significantly higher among the yoga groups than the exercisers. There was no statistical difference between the body satisfaction scores of the experienced yoga group and the beginner yoga students. This may suggest that individuals drawn to yoga have greater body satisfaction than exercisers, and that regular yoga practice possibly further increases body satisfaction.
The concept of body image satisfaction-dissatisfaction refers to individuals’ beliefs about their appearance, such as beliefs about their attractiveness or how well they match their personal ideal (Cash, 2011). Body image dissatisfaction is one of the factors linked to negative psychological outcomes, such as depression (Noles, Cash, & Winstead, 1985; Stice & Bearman, 2001) and disordered eating (Sunday, Halmi, Werdann, & Levey, 1992; Cash & Deagle, 1997). Clinicians and prevention experts in the field of eating disorders are always looking for protective or positive influences on body image (Calogero & Pedrotty, 2007). Increasingly, yoga techniques have been suggested to improve both physical and mental health (Rocha, Ribeiro, Rocha, Sousa, Albuquerque, Ribeiro, et al., 2012), to be a possible positive influence on body image satisfaction (Delaney & Anthis, 2010), and to be a potential therapy for eating disorders (Carei, Fyfe-Johnson, Breuner, & Brown, 2010). Yoga is a mind-body exercise, with an emphasis on non-judgmental awareness of the felt experience of the body and responsiveness to body sensations (Schiffmann, 1996). Hatha yoga, which includes asanas (body postures) and pranayama (breath regulation), among other things, encourages the practitioner to pay attention to the awareness of bodily signals (body awareness) (Mehling, Wrubel, Daubenmier, Price, Kerr, Silow, et al., 2011) and to synchronize breath with movement (Iyengar, 1993). Preliminary evidence indicates that yoga is associated with increased body satisfaction. Impett, Daubenmier, and Hirschman (2006) found that participation in a 2 mo. Anusara yoga (a modern school of hatha yoga) proAddress correspondence to Mary Flaherty by e-mail ([email protected]).
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DOI 10.2466/27.50.PMS.119c17z1
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gram was associated with increased body awareness and satisfaction. Similar trends have been reported in other yoga intervention studies (Rani & Rao, 1994). Female participants practicing yoga in a non-intervention, more naturalistic situation also had high body satisfaction (Dittmann & Freedman, 2009). In a study comparing samples of women, one of which practiced yoga and the other aerobic exercise, Daubenmier (2005) found that the yoga practitioners had greater body satisfaction than their aerobic exercising peers (p < .05). In addition, more time spent doing yoga per week was associated with increased satisfaction, while more time doing aerobics per week was associated with greater disordered eating attitudes (le Grange & Eisler, 1993; Brehm & Steffen, 1998). Daubenmier (2005) stressed the importance of distinguishing between body-oriented exercises, such as aerobic exercise, and mind-body exercises, such as yoga, to understand the complex relationship between exercise, body satisfaction, and disordered eating in women. Participants in yoga classes that were more psycho-spiritual or mind-focused showed significantly greater body satisfaction (p < .05) than those whose purpose was primarily physical exercise (Delaney & Anthis, 2010). Exercise is an activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive and has as a final or intermediate objective the improvement or maintenance of physical fitness (Caspersen, Powell, & Christenson, 1985). It has been suggested that exercise may be a way to increase body image satisfaction (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997; Campbell & Hausenblas, 2009; Appleton, 2013). However, it has also been shown that exercise can in some cases be harmful in terms of increased body dissatisfaction (Spink, 1992; Hausenblas & Symons Downs, 2001). Participants in aesthetically-based sports, or sports emphasizing the body's physical appearance (such as dance and gymnastics), report decreased body image satisfaction (Radell, Adame, & Cooke, 2002) and disordered eating behaviors (Smolak, Murnen, & Ruble, 2000). Abbott and Barber (2011) found that adolescent girls who participated in organized sports, such as netball and soccer, viewed their bodies in a more functional manner than physically active girls who walked and used the gym (Cohen's d = 0.75), while those who participated in gym-based physical exercise had a more accentuated awareness of observers' perspectives and the need to adhere to body ideals than did the sports participants (Cohen's d = 0.21) (see also Pritchard & Tiggemann, 2010). For the remainder of this paper, the term “exercise” will be used to refer to gym-based exercise including aerobics and weight training rather than running or team sports. Across the lifespan, women are at higher risk of having negative body image than men (Hayslip, Cooper, Dougherty, & Cook, 1997; Feingold & Mazzella, 1998). Garner (1997) estimated that 43% of men and 56% of women are dissatisfied with their bodies. The relationship of body image satisfaction to physical scales, such as Body Mass Index (BMI), is
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complex, some researchers finding no relationship between them (Foster, Wadden, & Vogt, 1997; Sarwer, Wadden, & Foster, 1998). Most women who are dissatisfied with their bodies desire a lower BMI, striving for a social standard for bodily attractiveness based on a thin ideal (Thompson & Heingerg, 1999). Men often aspire to increased BMI (Davis & Cowles, 1991; Friedman, Reichman, Costinzo, & Musante, 2012), the motivation being to acquire the muscular ideal (i.e., the addition of lean muscle mass and its distribution) (McCreary & Sassy, 2000; Lorenzen, Grieve, & Thomas, 2004; McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2004; Buccianeri, Serrano, Pastula, & Corning, 2014). Olivardia, Pope, Borowiecki, and Cohane (2004) reported substantial body image dissatisfaction among college-age males. Self-esteem was significantly negatively correlated with body dissatisfaction and was positively correlated with perceived muscularity. Phillips and Castle (2001) reported an increase in men “…dissatisfied with, preoccupied with, and even impaired by concerns about their appearance” (p. 1015). This is reflected with an increase in cosmetic surgery in males and in the incidence of men with eating disorders (Elgin & Pritchard, 2006). Pope, Phillips, and Olivardia (2000) note that body image is a hidden problem that men are not supposed to talk about. They argue that, “unlike women, men labor under a social taboo against expressing such feelings” (p. 5). Although yoga is widely practiced by men (Birdee, Legedza, Saper, Bertisch, Eisenberg, & Phillips, 2008), a thorough review of the literature revealed that the majority of research on yoga and body image (e.g., Daubenmier, 2005; Pritchard & Tiggemann, 2008; Dittmann & Freedman, 2009; Delaney & Anthis, 2010; Van Puymbroeck, Schmid, Shinew, & Hsieh, 2011) has focused only on women. In a study on yoga and embodiment, Impett, et al. (2006) had a sample of 20 women and 3 men. Research has demonstrated trends that illustrate the growing importance of the mesomorphic muscular body among men in Western culture (McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2004). Muscle dysmorphia is estimated at 9% of the male population (Olivardia, 2001). There is a growing preoccupation with muscularity leading to increased steroid use and excessive workout routines (Phillips & Dufresne, 2002). Twenty-five percent of the adults in the U.S. with eating disorders are men (Hudson, Hiripi, Pope, & Kessler, 2007). Men's body image dissatisfaction has tripled in the previous 25 years, from 15% to 45% of all Western men (Gregor, 2004), Given these findings, research suggests that yoga may have a positive effect on women, so a study of the association of yoga with body image in men is timely. To summarize, research suggests women who practice yoga have greater body image satisfaction than those who exercise (Daubenmier, 2005; Pritchard & Tiggemann, 2008). Little or no research has been published on the influence of yoga practice on male body image satisfaction.
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Studies on women have proposed that it is yoga practice itself that affects body image. However, an alternative explanation for the results is that women who are drawn to practice yoga may already have greater body image satisfaction than those drawn to exercise. Hypothesis 1. Men who practice yoga will have higher body image satisfaction than those who exercise. Hypothesis 2. Men with experience in yoga will have greater body image satisfaction than their peers just beginning yoga. METHOD Participants The sample in this cross-sectional study consisted of 82 male participants (M = 42.3 yr., SD = 11.9, range = 18 to 69). They were divided into three groups: 22 experienced yoga practitioners (M age = 46.4 yr., SD = 11.6), 26 beginners to yoga (M age = 40.3 yr., SD = 11.6), and 34 exercisers (M = 41.2 yr., SD = 11.9). All groups were age-matched (F2, 79 = 1.88, p = .15). There was no significant difference between the three groups regarding their current or perceived body shape, as measured by the Figure Drawing scale (beginner yoga and experienced yoga: Mann-Whitney U = 250, z = −.77, p = .46, r = .11; beginner yoga and exercisers: Mann-Whitney U = 418, z = −.36, p = .71, r = .04; experienced yoga and exercisers: Mann-Whitney U = 316, z = −1.00, p = .31, r = .13), showing that perceptually, at least, they had similar body types. The experienced yoga and exercise participants were matched for years of experience (yoga: M = 10.8 yr., SD = 6.4; exercise: M = 13.9 yr., SD = 11.4; t54 = −1.18, p = .25; mean difference = −3.13, 95%CI = −8.48 to 2.21; η2 = 0.02) and hours of practice per wk. (yoga: M = 6.6 hr., SD = 3.2; exercise: M = 7.3, SD = 3.5; t54 = −0.77, p = .44; mean difference = −0.71, 95%CI = −2.59, 1.15; η2 = 0.01). As it was necessary to recruit participants who had just started yoga, the beginner yoga group had to have signed on for their first yoga class 1 wk. or less prior to the study and not be currently (or in the previous 2 yr.) taking aerobic classes or weight training. To qualify for the experienced yoga group, participants had to have practiced yoga for at least 2 yr., an average of 3 times per wk. for 1 to 2 hr. each session, and to not currently (or in the previous 2 yr.) be engaged in aerobic or weight training classes. To be eligible for the exercise group, participants were required to have been weight training and aerobic training at moderate intensity for least 2 yr., with an average of 3 times per wk. for 1 to 2 hr. each session, and not currently (or in the previous 2 yr.) practicing yoga, Pilates, or any martial arts. Volunteer yoga and exercise participants were primarily recruited from yoga studios and fitness centers in Perth and Queensland.
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Measures Demographic questionnaire.—Age, ethnic background, current involvement and history of experience with yoga, aerobic, and gym-based exercise were measured via self-report. Participants were asked to indicate any physical activities they participated in currently and in the past, how many hours per week they spent on the activity and for how many months and years they had been doing it. Body image.—There is evidence of robust and large effects for the use of figural rating scales (Fingeret, Gleaves, & Pearson, 2004) to measure body image dissatisfaction. As scales containing muscular figures have been recommended for use with men (Drewnowski & Yee, 1987; Lynch & Zellner, 1999; Cafri & Thompson, 2004) over those varying exclusively along the dimension of body fat (Thompson & Gray, 1995), or inferred from a physical scale such as BMI, the scale developed by Lynch and Zellner (1999) was used to measure body image dissatisfaction with the male participants. This is a silhouette scale containing nine male figures arranged in terms of increasing muscularity on a 9-point scale, 1 being the thinnest and least muscular, and 9 being the most muscular. The scale has acceptable test-retest reliabilities for current (r = .88) and ideal (r = .71) ratings (Lynch & Zellner, 1999). Procedure The measures were completed in yoga studios (for the yoga participants) or in a room at gyms (for the exercisers). Participants completed the Demographic Questionnaire and the Male Figure Drawings (Lynch & Zellner, 1999). For the latter measure, they responded to two items: (a) “Please choose the image that most closely resembles your own body” (current) and (b) “Please choose the image that you would ideally like to have” (ideal). Using their estimations, the discrepancy between the current figure minus the ideal figure was used to calculate the body image dissatisfaction. This formula is generally accepted as an index of body dissatisfaction (Williamson, Gleaves, Watkins, & Schlundt, 1993; Thompson, 1995). Larger scores show greater body image dissatisfaction. The study had approval from Edith Cowan University's (ECU) Ethical Approval Review Board. RESULTS As the body figural rating measures were ordinal, a non-parametric approach was used for analysis. Perceived current body shape, ideal body shape, and the body image dissatisfaction scores for the three groups are presented in Table 1. The experienced yoga practitioners had significantly lower body dissatisfaction than those who exercised (Mann-Whitney U = 184, z = −3.67, p = .0001, r = −.49). Body dissatisfaction scores of the yoga beginners did not differ significantly from those of their experienced yoga peers (Mann-Whitney U = 231, z = −1.26, p = .21, r = .18). However, the yoga
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M. FLAHERTY TABLE 1 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS FOR PERCEIVED CURRENT BODY SHAPE, IDEAL BODY SHAPE, AND BODY IMAGE DISSATISFACTION Group
Current
Body Image Dissatisfaction
Ideal
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
Experienced yoga
4.73
1.16
4.91
0.97
0.45
0.51
Beginner yoga
4.88
0.95
5.15
0.88
0.73
0.72
Exercise
4.97
1.06
5.88
1.20
1.21
1.04
beginners had significantly lower body dissatisfaction than the exercise group (Mann-Whitney U = 318, z = −2.09, p = .04, r = .26). The exercise group desired enhanced muscularity; their ideal body shapes were significantly more muscular than their current perceptions of their bodies (t33 = −4.05, p = .0005, Cohen’s d = –1.41). However, this was not evident among the yoga groups; there was no significant difference between the current and ideal body image perceptions of either the beginner yoga group (t25 = −1.37, p = .18) or the experienced yoga group (t21 = −1.28, p = .21). Scores throughout revealed a preference to being more muscular. DISCUSSION Body image satisfaction was higher among the group of men who practiced yoga than in the exercise group, supporting Hypothesis 1. There was no significant difference in body image scores of those new to yoga and those who had experience in yoga, so Hypothesis 2 was not supported. Unexpectedly, the yoga beginners had lower mean body image dissatisfaction than the exercise group. In combination with Pritchard and Tiggemann's (2005) findings that exercising within fitness centers is associated with higher self-objectification, exercising in gyms might lead to increased body image dissatisfaction. Alternatively, it may be that individuals drawn to yoga may have greater body image satisfaction than general aerobic or weight-lifting exercisers. In this study, the combined groups (both beginners and experienced) who practiced yoga had significantly lower body image dissatisfaction than the group that exercised. This finding is similar to findings on body image satisfaction among women (Daubenmier, 2005; Pritchard & Tiggemann, 2008). However, all the male participants, when dissatisfied with their current shape, wanted to be heavier and more muscular, replicating previous findings (Cohane & Pope, 2001; Swami & Tovee, 2005; Ricciardelli, McCabe, Lillis, & Thomas, 2006). In contrast, studies with female participants and body image satisfaction have been found to perceive their body shape as heavier than ideal (Tiggemann, 2006).
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Yoga may help the practitioner to have an increased perception of ongoing bodily sensations compared with yoga-naïve controls (David, Fiori, & Aglioti, 2014; Flaherty & Connolly, in press). Participants who scored lower on measures of interoceptive ability (awareness of the internal state of one's body) had higher body dissatisfaction and more symptoms of eating disorders than those who scored higher on interoceptive ability (Pollatos, Kurz, Albrecht, Schreder, Kleemann, Schopf, et al., 2008; Peat & Muehlenkamp, 2011). In a randomized controlled clinical trial, adolescents who did yoga classes with an emphasis on the internal experience of the body's sensations and breathing showed greater reduction in their eating disorders than controls who did not do yoga (Carei, et al., 2010). The act of observing and evaluating one's own appearance from an outside perspective is termed “body objectification” (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), and research has suggested that it negatively affects people in terms of body image disturbance as a result of social pressure to conform to social standards of body shape appearance (Cusumano & Thompson, 1997). Cardio-based exercise in gym settings was positively associated with self-objectification among female participants (r570 = .15), while participation in “yoga-based fitness classes” was related to lower self-objectification (r570 = −.19) (Pritchard & Tiggemann, 2008). Further research with self-objectification among men may shed light on the increasing trends in male body image dissatisfaction (McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2004). The results of the current study suggest that yoga-based exercise is less associated with body image dissatisfaction than gym-based exercise among men. There was no statistical difference between the body image satisfaction scores of the male beginner yoga students and their advanced yoga peers. This finding brings into question the assumption that yoga causes an improvement in body image satisfaction (Daubenmier, 2005; Delaney & Anthis, 2010). It is possible that men who are attracted to mind-body exercise such as yoga are less concerned with their muscularity than those who are drawn to gym-based exercise. Even though yoga interventions (Rani & Rao, 1994; Impett, et al., 2006) have shown increased body awareness and satisfaction and decreased body objectification, it is uncertain as to how long these effects remain. However, while there was no significant difference between the current body image of the exercisers and that of the yoga groups, the experienced yoga practitioners in the current study showed marginally higher acceptance of their body shape than the beginners. This may suggest that yoga practice may further increase body satisfaction and merits longitudinal investigation.
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Limitations and Conclusions Limitations concerning some aspects of the study design deserve comment. First, the exercise participants did a variety of cardio-based and weight-based exercises, but reported them under a blanket term “exercise.” Pritchard and Tiggemann (2008) reported poorer body image outcomes in women with cardio-based exercises, while participation in weight-based exercises was not related to body image concern. It would have been more informative if these two groups could have been considered separately. Second, numerous problems have been identified with figure rating measures (Gardner & Brown, 2010). Accurate measurement of muscle appearance attitudes is a necessary first step prior to the assessment of this construct's relationship to relevant outcomes, such as eating disorders and steroid use. Third, it would have been informative to include a group of participants who were beginners to weight and aerobic training, as they could have acted as a comparison group to the yoga beginners and thus added further information as to the motivations that underlie the choice of a particular kind of exercise and an insight into potential body image issues. Finally, it is possible that the timing and context of administering the scales may have influenced the participants' body satisfaction, and this was not controlled. For example, yoga might be more likely to influence body image attitude immediately after practicing or the next day. In terms of context, the influence of yoga may differ depending on whether a person is practicing alone or in a class of advanced students. Future research could employ a more refined approach to examining the effects of yoga. In addition, this research may benefit from a qualitative approach to contribute to understanding the underlying aspects of body image dissatisfaction as well as a longitudinal design to monitor possible changes in body image over the course of an ongoing yoga practice. A study by Avalos and Tylka (2006) reported that body appreciation (unconditional approval and respect of the body) and an emphasis on body function rather than body appearance was related to “intuitive eating” (i.e., eating based on physiological hunger and satiety cues rather than situational and emotional cues), now recognized as an adaptive eating style (Tribole & Resch, 1995). Body image satisfaction is associated with greater awareness of bodily signals (i.e., internal hunger and satiety) and a greater tendency to respond appropriately to these signals (Avalos, Tylka, & Wood-Barcalow, 2005; Tylka, 2006). However, poor body image may encourage people to spend more time attending to their outer appearance than the functioning of their bodies (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Research suggests that yoga may be a potential therapy for eating disorders because it enhances interoception (Tsakiris, Tajadura-Jimenez, & Costantini, 2011), contributing to greater awareness of bodily sensations
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by encouraging the participant to focus on breath and becoming mindful of the effects of different postures on internal sensations. REFERENCES
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