A Study on the Effect of Body Shape Preoccupations, Verbal Commentary, Perfectionism, and Negative Appearance Evaluations Among Exercisers and Non-Exercisers

Perfectionism as a term has garnered widespread use in social media. Many believe that having a perfect body is the only way to get successful and gain admiration and approval. With the popularity of unrealistic appearance standards, people who don’t “fit in” are scrutinized and mocked. Excessive teasing mostly leads to being constantly preoccupied with body shape and image concerns and also evaluating one’s self-worth with physical appearance. Negative self-talk, excessive concerns about body shape leads to the constant fear of getting negatively evaluated by other people. The aim of the current research is to study the effects of body shape preoccupations, perfections, verbal commentary on physical appearance, and negative appearance evaluation among exercisers and non-exercisers. For this purpose, a sample of 80 women in the age range 19-30 is taken, out of which 40 are exercisers and 40 are non-exercisers. Standardized measures of Body Shape Preoccupation, Perfectionism, Verbal Commentary, and Negative Appearance Evaluation were administered to the participants. The findings of the study revealed a significant positive correlation of Body Shape Preoccupation with Negative Appearance Evaluation, Self-Critical Perfectionism, and Negative Weight and Shape. The results also found a significant positive correlation between Negative Appearance Evaluation and Rigid Perfectionism.  Positive Weight and Shape and Positive General Appearance were also found to have a significant negative correlation with Body Shape Preoccupation. Non-exercisers were found to be higher on Body Shape Preoccupations, Narcissistic Perfectionism, and Positive Weight and Shape than Exercisers. One needs to know their body, be comfortable in it to actually practice self-love. The most important ingredient of self-love is a self-care activity that makes your soul feel alive. And self-love is what most women need to accept their body and its uniqueness.