This study examined the relationship between participants' physique anxiety, eating behaviors, somatotype, and the preferred qualifications and body type of a fitness instructor. Subjects were 171 students attending fitness classes at a university. Analysis indicated that the women preferred a thinner fitness instructor than men and that enthusiasm, motivation, and being physically fit were considered the most important characteristics overall. No significant racial differences in key variables were found.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AkandeA. (1993) Sex differences in preferences for ideal female body shape. Health Care for Women International, 14, 249–259.
2.
AnnesiJ. J. (1999) Relationship between exercise professionals' behavioral styles and clients' adherence to exercise. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 89, 597–604.
3.
CashT. F.NovyP. L.GrantJ. L. (1994) Why do women exercise? Factor analysis and further validation of the Reasons for Exercise Inventory. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 78, 539–544.
4.
CohnL. D.AdlerN. E. (1992) Female and male perceptions of ideal body shapes: Distorted views among Caucasian college students. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 16, 69–79.
5.
DemarestJ.AllenR. (2000) Body image: Gender, ethnic, and age differences. Journal of Social Psychology, 140, 465–472.
6.
DemarestJ.LangerE. (1996) Perception of body shape by underweight, average and overweight men and women. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 83, 569–570.
7.
FallonE.RozinP. (1985) Sex differences in perceptions of desirable body shape. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 94, 102–105.
8.
FrederickC. M.MorrisonC. S. (1996) Social physique anxiety: Personality constructs, motivations, exercise attitudes and behaviors. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 82, 963–972.
9.
FurnhamA.TitmanP.SleemanE. (1994) Perception of female body shapes as a function of exercise. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 9, 335–352.
10.
GarnerD. M.OlmsteadM. P. (1984) Manual for Eating Disorder Inventory. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
11.
GarnerD. M.OlmsteadM. P.PolivyJ. (1983) The development and validation of a multidimensional eating disorder inventory for anorexia nervosa and bulimia. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2, 15–34.
12.
GrayS. (1977) Social aspects of body image: Perception of normalcy of weight and affect of college undergraduates. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 45, 1035–1040.
13.
HarrisS. M. (1994) Racial differences in predictors of college women's body image attitudes. Women's Health, 21, 89–104.
14.
HartE. A.LearyM. R.RejeskiW. J. (1989) The measurement of social physique anxiety. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 11, 94–104.
15.
HaskoS. (1985) The relationship between descriptors of aerobic dance instructors and student reenrollment in aerobic dance classes. Dissertation Abstracts International, 45, 3487a.
16.
McAuleyE.BurmanG. (1993) The Social Physique Anxiety Scale: Construct validity in adolescent females. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 65, 1049–1053.
17.
MillerE. J.SmithE.TrembathD. L. (2000) The “skinny” on body size requests in personal ads. Sex Roles, 43, 129–141.
18.
NobleL.CoxR. (1983) Development of a form to survey students' reactions on instructional effectiveness of lifetime sports classes. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 54, 247–354.
19.
NudelmanS.RosenJ. C.LeitenbergH. (1988) Dissimilarities in eating attitudes, body image distortion, depression, and self-esteem between high intensity male runners and women with bulimia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 7, 625–634.
20.
PopeH. G.GruberA. J.MangwethB.BureauB.deColC.JouventR.HudsonJ. I. (1999) Body image perception among men in three countries. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 1297–1301.
21.
PopeH. G.Jr.PhillipsK. A.OlivardiaR. (2000) The Adonis Complex: The secret crisis of male body obsession. New York: The Free Press.
22.
RuckerC. E.IIICashT. F. (1992) Body images, body-size perceptions, and eating behaviors among African-American and White college women. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 12, 291–299.
23.
SelmH. C.FiolaJ. A. (1990) A comparison of attitudes and behaviors of men and women toward food and dieting. Family Practice Research Journal, 10, 57–63.
24.
StevensC.TiggemannM. (1998) Women's body figure preferences across the life span. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 159, 94–102.
25.
StunkardA. J.SorensenT.SchulsingerF. (1983) Use of the Danish Adoption Register for the study of obesity and thinness. In KetyS. S.RowlandL. P.SidmanR. L.MatthysseS. W. (Eds.), Genetics of neurological and psychiatric disorders. New York: Raven. Pp. 115–120.
26.
TiggemannM.WilliamsonS. (2000) The effect of exercise on body satisfaction and self-esteem as a function of gender and age. Sex Roles, 43, 119–127.
27.
VogelA. (2000) Body image and exercise: What's the instructor's role?American Fitness, 18, 42–44.
28.
WestcottW. (1991) Role model instructors. Fitness Management, March, 48–50.
29.
WilfleyD. E.RodinJ. (1995) Cultural influences on eating disorders. In BrownellK. D.FairburnC. D. (Eds.), Eating disorders and obesity: A comprehensive handbook. New York: Guilford. Pp. 78–82.
30.
WiningerS. R. (2002) Instructors' and classroom characteristics associated with exercise enjoyment by females. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 94, 395–398.