A Distorted Body Image
More than half of women overestimate the size of their bodies, according to Health magazine. And it’s not because they have trouble guessing the size of things.
A study at St. George’s Hospital Medical School in London revealed that when asked to estimate the width of a box, 50 average-size women were right on target. But when asked to estimate their body widths, they exaggerated the size of their waists by about 25 per cent and their hips by about 16 per cent.
A woman’s body image can have a tremendous impact on her life. So check out these links and read what women are saying about what they see when they look in the mirror.
- Read a chapter from The Barnard/Columbia Women’s Handbook , 1992, explores the significance of body image for modern women.
- Read a collection of articles from the Best Start Project, based in Ontario, Canada, deals with body image, related health problems in women and children and explores strategies for change.
