Research says that for younger adults, appearance matters
more than health.
Image Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1074636
When it comes to college-age individuals taking care of
their bodies, appearance is more important than health, research conducted at
the University of Missouri suggests.
María Len-Ríos, an associate professor of strategic communication, Suzanne Burgoyne, a professor of theater, and a team of undergraduate researchers studied how college-age women view their bodies and how they feel about media messages aimed at women. Based on focus group research findings, the MU team developed an interactive play about body image to encourage frank discussions about conflicting societal messages regarding weight, values and healthful choices.
María Len-Ríos, an associate professor of strategic communication, Suzanne Burgoyne, a professor of theater, and a team of undergraduate researchers studied how college-age women view their bodies and how they feel about media messages aimed at women. Based on focus group research findings, the MU team developed an interactive play about body image to encourage frank discussions about conflicting societal messages regarding weight, values and healthful choices.
"During our focus group conversations, we learned
that young people don't think about nutrition when it comes to eating,"
Len-Ríos said. "They think more about calorie-counting, which isn't
necessarily related to a balanced diet."
The focus groups included college-age women, college-age
men and mothers of college-age women, who discussed how body image is
associated with engaging in restrictive diets, irregular sleep patterns and
over-exercising.
"We receive so many conflicting media messages from
news reports and advertising about how we should eat, how we should live and
how we should look," Len-Ríos said. "Some participants said they
realize images of models are digitally enhanced, but it doesn't necessarily
keep them from wanting to achieve these unattainable figures -- this is because
they see how society rewards women for 'looking good.'"
The researchers also completed in-depth interviews with
nutritional counselors who said lack of time and unhealthy food environments
can keep college-age students from getting good nutrition.
"Eating well takes time, and, according to health
professionals, college students are overscheduled and don't have enough time to
cook something properly or might not know how to prepare something
healthful," Len-Ríos said.
Based on the focus group conversations and interviews,
Carlia Francis, an MU theater doctoral student and playwright, developed
"Nutrition 101," a play about women's body images. During
performances, characters divulge their insecurities about their own bodies,
disparage other women's bodies and talk about nutrition choices. After a short,
scripted performance, the actors remain in character, and audience members ask
the characters questions.
"When you're developing something for interactive
theater, focus groups and in-depth interviews are great at getting at
stories," Len-Ríos said. "Many of the stories used in the interactive
play -- like valuing people because of their appearance and not their personal
qualities or abilities -- came from individuals' personal experiences."
Burgoyne says the play helps facilitate dialogues about
nutrition, media messages and self-awareness.
"Body image is a sensitive topic, and the play helps
open discussions about how individuals view themselves and how media messages
influence their self-images," Burgoyne said. "An easy way to improve
individuals' body images does not exist, but hopefully, the conversations that
arise from the performances will help develop ways to counteract the images
that the media promote."
MU student actors debuted the play last spring, and
Burgoyne said performances will resume during the upcoming fall semester.
The study, "Confronting Contradictory Media Messages
about Body Image and Nutrition: Implications for Public Health," was
presented earlier this month at the annual Association for Education in
Journalism and Mass Communication Conference in Chicago.
Image Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1074636
Post a Comment