Recently, a survey on body image was given to most of the sophomore class at Metropolitan Business Academy. This survey included questions and a rating such as:
-How important do you feel appearance is for men in our society?
-How important is it for women? Rating is from 1-10.
-How do you feel about your body?
-If you could change one or more things about your body, would you?
-What does your diet consist of?
-How much do you exercise?
-How do you feel about the media's perspective on body image?
In this survey we found that a large amount of people were confident with their bodies, but they did have things they’d like to change. It proved to us that most people were not completely happy with their body, in fact. We believe they built a wall in order to hide their true feelings. When asking if they would change something about their body, we received multiple comments saying they would. These comments ranged from “I’d change my hair” to “I’d change my weight” (see the picture on the following page for all comments).
Most of the student body believes that appearance is more important for women than it is for men. The average rating for how important body image should be for men (on a scale of one to ten) was 6.5. For women, it was 8.1. This suggests that students at Metropolitan believe women should care more about the way they look than men should. People shouldn’t care too much about their appearance. The clothes and hairstyles you wear don’t matter because everyone is beautiful just the way they are.
52% of the students who took the survey said they eat a variety of both healthy and unhealthy foods. We feel as though we should help to encourage healthy eating because that can push students in the right direction.Teaching them now about healthy eating habits can lead to a lifestyle of good choices when it comes to their diet. Sometimes, students don’t have someone at home to teach them right from wrong about these kinds of things, so having their peers teach them may help them in the long run.
65% of people don’t exercise a healthy amount. Most of the surveyees reported that they only exercise once or twice a week, which isn’t quite enough. They should, at least, exercise three or four times a week in order to lead a healthy life.
Many of the people we interviewed said they disagreed with the media’s perspective on body image. They said things like, “People think you need to be like one hundred pounds or you’re ugly, which is untrue.” The students seem to feel as though body image is important, but they don’t agree with some of what the idea of body image entails such as how not all men need to have a good tan and body or how women need to be thin and flawless.Their answers to the survey told us that yes, they do think body image is a big problem, but they don’t agree with how the media portrays it.
Body Image in the Eyes of Metropolitan’s Sophomore Class