Gender differences in body-esteem among seniors: Beauty and health considerations

Objectives: To study the attitudes of seniors to their own bodies, specifically subjective body attractiveness and activities aimed at the improvement of body appearance and condition.

Methods: The study looked at 72 women and 81 men between 60 and 80 years of age. The participants were examined with the Body/Self Relationship Test, Body Esteem Scale and Healthy Behavior Inventory. Anthropometric measures, such as body mass index (BMI) and the index of central obesity (ICO), were also used.

Results: Older women and men did not differ in terms of subjective attitudes to their bodies. Most seniors were overweight; this problem was more often disclosed and assessed negatively by women, but was not correlated with a higher level of health-seeking behaviors. Despite being clearly overweight, no significant associations were found between objective anthropometric parameters in men, their body attitudes and health-seeking behaviors.

Discussion: The study confirmed that older women consider their body as an object that is assessed for its appearance, whereas men see it as a process, focusing on its efficient functioning.