Exploration of Body Image, Body Appreciation, Body Dysmorphia and Eating Disorder among Gym-Goers and Non-Gym-Goers

Introduction: Psychological factors like body image, body appreciation, and body dysmorphia significantly affect a person’s overall well-being. While going to the gym is often linked to physical fitness, it doesn’t always mean someone is truly healthy physically or mentally. Gym attendance can have a mixed effect on how people feel about their bodies. Some studies indicate that going to the gym can improve body satisfaction and appreciation, but others show that frequent exposure to fitness ideals may lower body satisfaction and increase the tendency to compare oneself to others. Objectives: This research aimed to compare gym-goers and non-gym-goers regarding body image, body appreciation, body dysmorphia, and eating disorders. The study also looked at gender differences in these areas to see if males and females experience different levels of body dissatisfaction, appreciation, and disordered eating behaviors. The research aimed to find out if going to the gym leads to positive or negative effects on body image and eating habits. Material and Methods: The study utilized four reliable instruments to assess body-related perceptions and behaviors: the Body Image Questionnaire for body image concerns, the Body Appreciation Scale-2 for positive body image, the Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) scale for dysmorphic features, and the Eating Questionnaire (EQ) for disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. A comparative research design was used to examine the differences between gym-goers and non-gym-goers. Participants’ responses were collected through self-report standardized tools and analyzed to explore the relationship between gym attendance and psychological factors related to body image. Statistical analyses were performed to identify gender differences and the impact of gym attendance on these factors. Results: Gender differences have been found to be significant, which indicates the necessity of the development of a gender-based healthy body attitude that encourages interventions. It was viewed that females have greater body dissatisfaction, body image issues, and eating disorders. Males are less body dissatisfied, body image disturbed, and have more issues with body appreciation. Dissatisfaction, eating behaviors, and issues with body images do not have a bearing on whether they attend the gym or not. Conclusion: The study concludes that going to the gym does not automatically lead to either positive or negative outcomes related to body image. Females generally had higher body dissatisfaction and eating disorder tendencies, while males exhibited greater body appreciation and lower dissatisfaction levels. It was also seen that body dissatisfaction was moderately related to increased BDD symptoms and decreased body appreciation, whereas the latter was strongly connected with decreased BDD symptoms and was weakly related to healthier eating behavior.