Gender differences in body-esteem among seniors: Beauty and health considerations

Abstract

ObjectivesTo study the attitudes of seniors to their own bodies, specifically subjective body attractiveness and activities aimed at the improvement of body appearance and condition. MethodsThe study looked at 72 women and 81 men between 60 and 80 years of age. The participants were examined with the Body/Self Relationship Test, Body Esteem Scale and Healthy Behavior Inventory. Anthropometric measures, such as body mass index (BMI) and the index of central obesity (ICO), were also used. ResultsOlder women and men did not differ in terms of subjective attitudes to their bodies. Most seniors were overweight; this problem was more often disclosed and assessed negatively by women, but was not correlated with a higher level of health-seeking behaviors. Despite being clearly overweight, no significant associations were found between objective anthropometric parameters in men, their body attitudes and health-seeking behaviors. DiscussionThe study confirmed that older women consider their body as an object that is assessed for its appearance, whereas men see it as a process, focusing on its efficient functioning.