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Eating disorders common in women with attractive husbands, says study

  • Florida State University study claims to reveal the ugly truth about attractiveness
  • Their study highlights that links among own and partner attractiveness and dieting motivations differ by sex
  • The study also found that while women were affected, men had no such motivation or issues with body image
Eating disorders common in women with attractive husbands says study

New research from Florida State University finds another factor — attractiveness of a romantic partner — can be a driving force behind the desire to diet and seek a slim body, though that motivation contrasts sharply between men and women.

As part of the study, Doctoral student Tania Reynolds and Assistant Professor of Psychology Andrea Meltzer found that women who were considered to be less attractive were more motivated to diet and be thin if their husbands were attractive. The study was published in The Body Image journal.

What the study also points out is that qualms about body image, however, did not exist among women who were more attractive than their husbands. As for men, this kind of motivation to diet was almost next to none, if their wives were attractive or not.

The study used a sample of 223 U.S. newlywed spouses.

Women are easily prone to eating disorders because of the body image they cultivate. A better looking partner may increase the chances of a woman feeling jealous and insecure in her own skin. Afraid that their partner/husband may leave them because of them being overweight or not well maintained propel them to resort to crazy yo-yo dieting and even crash diets to achieve their desired body image.

The physicality in the relationship takes precedence and especially if you have family members taunting you about your weight and appearance it becomes a nightmare for women.

Men, on the other hand, are more secure in relationships and usually do not consider body image as a tool to maintain a relationship. And nor do they go on dieting sprees for the love of their life.

The findings of this study may not be that pleasant to digest, especially because it means that women mould and modulate their body preferences and appearance into order to please men. The findings would get any feminist up in arms but at the centre of all this is the actual issue of ‘eating disorders’.

Like Princess Diana once famously said, eating disorders should not be considered on the surface, they indicate a much a deeper cause and state of mind. Men, if they notice such a habit in their wives or girlfriends should have a talk and try and erase this false self-doubt which could lead to disastrous consequences and sometimes even ruin a relationship.

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