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Posted on Mar 27, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
Men's health could be affected by magazines, as a new study has suggested that they influence body image.
Men's health could be affected by magazines, as a new study has suggested that they influence body image.
According to research from Dr David Giles, a psychologist at the University of Winchester in the UK, images of men with 'perfect' bodies could be dangerous for male perceptions of physiques.
"The message in typical lads' magazines is that you need to develop a muscular physique in order to attract a quality mate," he said.
"Readers internalize this message, which creates anxieties about their actual bodies and leads to increasingly desperate attempts to modify them."
Some 161 men between the ages of 18 and 36 were surveyed. The men who most often read such publications were found to be most affected, while single men were more influenced than those in a relationship.
The study was published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.
