Discover Body Image

By Chang, Chih-yu（張芷瑜）

Compared to the past, people are more likely to pay attention to their bodies and appearances. More and more people are going to fitness centers in their free time and tell people they are on a diet, especially young people even if they are slim enough. Why body image is important? What makes Taiwanese pursue slim figures?

Tseng,Yu-han（曾幼涵）, assistant professor of Department Psychology of Soochow University（東吳大學）, points out that it seems to have “Halo Effect”（月暈效應）on this issue. For example, when people think about “fat”, there will be some words that come up in your mind such as lazy, dirty, ugly, etc. Not to mention our media ranging from television, movies to the internet, which always show the image of good-looking people – they have a nice body. So a social sense of beauty has been built up.

“Because of self-identity（自我認同）, young people like to explore themselves and care about what people think about them. They are in a transition period,” said Tseng. Nevertheless, if people take their figures too seriously, they may try intensive ways to lose weight such as stop eating. After all, it might influence their mentation; moreover, they could have anorexia（厭食症）. Tseng suggests that develop other life goals or focus on the other things. However, working out or keeping exercise is a positive thing that could help people get healthier and happier. Don’ turn them into a pressure! A good lifestyle or personal image should be based on a healthy body.