What Is The Difference Between Female Youth And Body Image

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Female youth are experiencing increasing rates of body dissatisfaction, depression, anxiety, and decreases in adaptive wellbeing. (Paxton, Neumark-Sztainer, Hannan & Eisenberg, 2006; Stice, 2002). As more females experience negative body image, targeted programs to increase body image along with academics, social and emotional well-being are emerging (e.g. Hoop and Leaders Basketball Camp; Proactive Kids Club; Snowsports Out Reach Program). These program aim to increase the self-esteem, body satisfaction, and social well-being of female youth while participating in physical activity.
Body image is a multidimensional, fluid concept consisting of perception, cognition, affect and behavior (Grogan, 2006; Grogan,1999; Muth & Cas, 1997). Banefield
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Body dissatisfaction is influenced by body comparisons to individuals in the media (Dalley, Buunk, Umit, 2009; Bessenoff, 2006; Posavac, Posavac & Weigel, 2001; Yamamiya, Cash, Melnyk, Posavac & Posavac, 2005) and to family members and friends (Lev-Ari, Baumgarten-Katz & Zohar, 2014; Webb & Zimmer‐Gembeck, 2014 ). Body dissatisfaction immerges as young as preschool and reaches its highest rates during adolescents (Cramer & Steinwert,1998; Musher-Eizenman, Holub, Edwards-Leeper, Persson, & Goldstein, 2003).
Representation of women in advertisements, magazines, televisions, and movies has been studied extensively in the past decades. Analysis of these mediums indicates that women are increasingly being portrayed as thinner (Silverstein, Kelly, & Perdue, 1986; Sypeck, et al., 2006; Wiseman, Gray, Mosimann, & Ahrens, 1992). Eighty-seven percent of women cast in television shows are classified as underweight (Greenberg, Eastin, Hofschire, Lachlan & Brownell, 2003) additionally, women in television are displayed as slimmer than males (Robinson, Callister & Jankoski,

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