Not only can body image impact your mood from day to day, it can strongly affect how satisfied you are with your entire life.
Researchers from Chapman University recently published a study of over 12,000 Americans that determined how satisfaction with one’s appearance and weight related to a variety of other factors. One of the findings of the study pointed to a marked gender disparity:
For women, satisfaction with overall appearance was the third strongest predictor of overall life satisfaction, behind only satisfaction with financial situation and satisfaction with romantic partner. For men, appearance satisfaction was the second strongest predictor of life satisfaction, behind only satisfaction with financial situation.
It appears as if, in terms of general life satisfaction, feeling hot is more important to men than it is to women. And yet, women are often derided more for caring more about personal appearance. How does that song go again?
