Body dissatisfaction and surveillance, exercise frequency, depression and self-esteem in a university population

The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between body dissatisfaction and body surveillance, exercise frequency, depression and self-esteem in 121 university students from various Australian tertiary institutions aged between 17 to 45 years old population. This study also aimed to observe gender differences in the experience of body dissatisfaction. Inconsistent with previous research and the present hypothesis, no significant relationship was found between body dissatisfaction and exercise frequency or body surveillance. However, a significant relationship was found between body dissatisfaction and depression, as well as with self-esteem. Gender was also found to significantly predict body dissatisfaction, with females reporting a higher degree of body dissatisfaction than males. Results of the current study indicate that interventions and resilience programs for eating disorders and those who are at risk would benefit from focusing on younger student females, particularly those who report lower self-esteem, higher depression and body dissatisfaction.