Are these shirt collars getting tight or did the dry cleaner shrink them?
Studies have found that many men’s ability to assess their weight status is less finely tuned than women’s.Why might this be? The reason could be in part that compared with women, the majority of men
have less practice analyzing their bodies and, in turn, their weight. Other than shaving, brushing their teeth, and buying new clothes, men typically don’t spend much time in front of a mirror.Whereas a woman
can easily spend 45 to 60 minutes getting ready for her day—in the shower, styling her hair, applying cosmetics, and dressing—men tend to spend a fraction of that time in their daily ritual. Let’s be honest—
the amount of face time the genders spend in front of a mirror (especially a full-length one) is very different.
Another factor that can skew a guy’s self-assessment skills when it comes to his weight is our societal view of what men are supposed to look like. Just as our culture values very thin women, it also values large, strong men. A comment like “He looks like a linebacker” is a compliment for most guys and an aspiration of many young men. So when some guys do take a good look at their bodies they see themselves as big rather than overweight.
There’s another irony when it comes to men,women, and their perceptions of weight. Just as women confuse the ideal-for-appearance body with the ideal-for-health body, so do men—but the opposite way.
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