Do body image investment and evaluation relate to bulimic symptoms in U.S. collegiate men and women in the same way?

Abstract

Although research suggests that body image investment (i.e., drive for muscularity, orientation toward appearance, preoccupation with weight or weight gain) and body image evaluation factors (e.g., negative evaluations of appearance, overestimation of current weight) correlate with bulimic symptoms, the magnitude of these relationships may differ between men and women. The relationship between bulimic symptoms and the drive for muscularity, one form of body image investment theorized to be particularly relevant to men, is understudied in college students. This study examined bulimic symptoms, body image investment, and body image evaluation in American undergraduate students (84 men, 198 women). Bulimic symptoms were negatively associated with appearance evaluation and positively associated with appearance orientation, weight preoccupation, and weight overestimation in both men and women. Bulimic symptoms were positively associated with the drive for muscularity in men, but not in women. Awareness of the relationships between bulimic symptoms and body image investment and evaluation may help identify those at risk for bulimic symptoms.