In contemporary societies men have been socialized to believe they should have certain physical body structures that describe their masculinity; the fact is reinforced in the television and video programs, music, and the general societal. men are expected to have a low-fat body that well fits their attire; although different societies have their description of an ideal masculine structure, some factors seem to cut across; they include tallness, firm body, and handsome.
The notion of masculinity as described by societies affects teenagers; they tend to work hard to get the shape that they think or they are the ideal shape for men. With the perception, teenagers are likely to wear clothes that expose some of the body parts that they feel portray or describe their masculinity. Some of the parts they tend to expose include their chests, beards, and arms.
To improve on their looks, adolescent and teenage men engage in workout activities like gym, running, football and other exercises that they think will keep them in shape. The danger that comes with the actions is that when not attained, and then the teenager may develop a sense of low self-esteem. At later stages of life, the men may continue with the practice to maintain their body shape and if their esteem was affected negatively, they may have issues dealing with it.
In socialization, men and boys are given some perceptions and expected to believe that there is a certain ideal body structure that women and girls should have; with the notion, they tend to associate with only those ladies with such kind of structures which include, low body fat, surgical alteration, and well behaved.
With the notion, women and girls on the other hand work to attain and maintain the structure that has been described or thought to be the best by the society; when doing this they engage in activities like exercises, dieting, and wearing clothes that seem to expose body parts that they think are important.
Thin bodies are considered fashionable and people with such kinds of bodies are thought to be active sexually and in other styles of life. With the change in fashion, thin people are more likely to get outfits that fit their bodies than fat people. Among ladies, they think that maintaining such a body makes them look and feel older slowly.
Peers affect their colleague’s attitudes, perceptions, and self-esteem; when someone is obese but faces some sort of mockery, the first thing that gets into their mind is that they are not fitting in the community. When such feelings start getting into an individual, more so teenagers, it has an impact on their social life and their esteem; with mockery, teenagers develop low self-esteem and start cursing themselves.
When mocked, teenagers feel discriminated by the same society they are expected to be getting respect and support for self-development; they may fail in school or do some unethical things just to prove they are worth recognition and respect.
Different communities have different takes on the size of women and men within their communities; in those cultures that see huge and women with large body sizes as looking good and worth respect, they harm smaller females.
In societies that value larger women, their size is attributed to their power and ability to reproduce and make good families; strength is seen as important for feeding children.
In such societies, smaller women are disregarded and are accorded lesser respect; they are seen not to be as reproductive as their counterparts. With the segregation, smaller women may feel disrespected and can develop low self-esteem.
After reading chapter 5 it has come clear that parents influence their children eating behaviors; children who are brought about in families where parents care less about diet are likely to adopt the unhealthy eating habit.
The role played by peers in shaping teenagers’ and children’s behavior has come out clear; children who have peers and friends who eat unhealthily are likely to be influenced in the same line.
Chapter five has enlightened me that certain ages in human development have people have preferences of certain kinds of foods and certain lifestyles; in the case that someone has adopted an unhealthy eating habit, then it can result in an eating disorder.
After reading chapter 5, I have appreciated the role that lifestyle plays in eating disorders management. Modern foods, mostly junk foods are freely available for children; this has resulted in a change in eating habits to such foods that increase the rate of eating disorders like obesity. On the other hand, children are now engaging more in in-house games using computers, video games, and television, they do not have the chance to exercise their body and muscles, and this increases their chances of being obese since they do not burn calories they have consumed.
Reference
Pamela, K. (2005). Eating Disorders. New York: Prentice Hall.