| Abstract. “Women who are overweight feel the effects much more harshly than overweight men” (Safir et al 2005). The purpose of this study is to look at how college students perceive body image, social pressures of dieting, and calorie consciousness. Society views and expects women to be thin and feminine while men are viewed to be muscular and strong. Based on this I hypothesize women will have better awareness about perception of body image than men; society places a higher expectation on women to diet than it does men; and women will have a greater awareness of body image than men. Non-probability haphazard sampling was used at a liberal arts university in Virginia. One hundred twenty four students participated in an online survey in 2009. Analysis is continuing to determine if female students are more conscious of body image, social pressures to diet and more calorie conscious than male students. |