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Research conducted with women suggests that media images of hard-to-achieve body ideals can be viewed as a sociocultural factor promoting body dissatisfaction and unhealthy weight control behaviors (Becker, Burwell, Gilman, Herzog, & Hamburg, 2002; Field et al., 1999; Fallon, 1990; Heinberg, 1996; Levine & Smolak, 1996; Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw & Stein, 1994). Although sociocultural pressures may be exerted by other actors, such as family and friends, the media are considered powerful communicators of body ideals due to their accessibility, popularity, and pervasiveness (Heinberg, 1996; Mazur, 1986).

Sociocultural standards of beauty for males emphasize strength and muscularity. When asked about body type preferences, boys as young as five or six prefer the mesomorphic type (well proportioned, average build), rather than ectomorphic (thin) or endomorphic (fat) (Kirkpatrick & Sanders, 1978; Mishkind, Rodin, Silberstein, & Striegel-Moore, 1986). Within the mesomorphic category, a majority select the muscular mesomorphic body type, a V-shaped "muscleman"-type body "characterized by well-developed chest and arm muscles and wide shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist" (Mishkind et al., 1986, p. 547). Men who meet this ideal are considered more attractive and receive more social benefits (Grogan, 1999; Mishkind et al., 1986).

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