There’s this crave among today’s women to have the best shape and posture and all that.
A new UBC study has found that just one 30-minute bout of exercise makes women feel stronger and thinner. And the positive effect lasts well beyond the activity itself, which may be good news for women concerned about their body image.
“Women, in general, have a tendency to feel negatively about their bodies,” says study senior author Kathleen Martin Ginis, professor in UBC Okanagan’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences. “This is a concern because poor body image can have harmful implications for a woman’s psychological and physical health including increased risk for low self-esteem, depression and for eating disorders. This study indicates exercise can have an immediate positive effect.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly one half of North American women experience some degree of body image dissatisfaction and this has become more prevalent over the last three decades.
“We think that the feelings of strength and empowerment women achieve post exercise, stimulate an improved internal dialogue,” says Martin Ginis. “This in turn should generate positive thoughts and feelings about their bodies which may replace the all too common negative ones.”