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1/5NEWS LESSONS / Body image concerns more men than women / Advanced

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WEBSITE Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2012

Body image concerns more men than women

Level 3 Advanced

Key words1

Find the information2

Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text.

The article is about a survey on men and what they think of their bodies. Decide whether the following

statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the survey. Then check your answers in the text.

1. __________________________ is an informal word forstomach.

2. __________________________ is an informal term forwomens breasts.

3. To __________________________ means to ofcially ask for a piece of work to be done for you.4. A __________________________ is a medicine, food or drink that helps you to pass solid waste more easily

when you use the toilet.

5. Someones __________________________ is the shape of their body, especially a mans.

6. If you describe a person as __________________________, they are slightly fat in the way a healthy baby or

a young child is.

7. __________________________ is a formal word that shows the existence of a problem or bad situation.

8. If you __________________________ something, you decide not to do or have it.

9. A __________________________ is someone who answers questions in a questionnaire.

10. To __________________________ means to make something increase or become worse, especially

something unpleasant or negative.

1. Women worry more about how they look than men do.

2. More than one third of men would give up one year of their life in exchange for a perfect body.

3. More than 50% of men think their arms are not muscular enough.

4. 92% of men think about their appearance at least ve times a day.

5. Obsession with appearance is a growing phenomenon in men.

6. 20% of men have made themselves sick to control their weight.

boobs chubby belly symptomatic physique

laxative respondent forego fuel commission

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Body image concerns more men than

women, research fnds

Denis Campbell

6 January, 2012

More men worry about their body shape and

appearance beer bellies, man boobs or going

bald than women do about how they look,

according to research. More than four in ve

men (80.7%) talk in ways that promote anxiety

about their body image by referring to perceived

aws and imperfections, compared with 75% ofwomen. Similarly, 38% of men would sacrice at

least a year of their life in exchange for a perfect

body again, a higher proportion than women.

These ndings tell us that men are concerned

about body image, just like women. We knew

that body talk affected women and young

people, and now we know that it affects men

too, said Dr Phillippa Diedrichs, from the Centre

of Appearance Research at the University of

the West of England. She conducted the study,

of 394 British men, which was commissioned

by Central YMCA (Young Mens ChristianAssociation) and the Succeed Foundation, an

eating disorders charity.

The survey revealed that men have high levels

of anxiety about their bodies and that some

resort to compulsive exercise, strict diets,

laxatives or making themselves sick in an

attempt to lose weight or achieve a more

toned physique.

80.7% talked about their own or others

appearance in ways that draw attention toweight, lack of hair or slim frame. 30% have

heard someone refer to their beer belly, 19%

have been described as chubby and 19% have

overheard talk about their moobs (man boobs).

23% said concerns about their appearance

had deterred them from going to the gym. 63%

thought their arms or chests were not muscular

enough. 29% thought about their appearance

at least ve times a day. 18% were on a high-

protein diet to increase muscle mass, and 16%

on a calorie-controlled diet to slim down.

Rosi Prescott, Central YMCAs Chief Executive,

said: Historically, making conversation about

your body has been perceived as something

women do, but it is clear from this research

that men are also guilty of commenting on one

anothers bodies, and in many cases this is

having a damaging effect. Mens high levels

of body talk were symptomatic of a growing

obsession with appearance, she added.

Some three in ve men (58.6%) said body talk

affected them, usually negatively. Around 12%

said they would trade a year of life if they could

have their ideal body weight and shape, 15.2%

would give up two to ve years, 5.3% would

forego six to ten years and 5.3% would sacricea decade or more.

Some 4% said they had made themselves sick

to control their weight, while 3.4% reported using

laxatives for the same purpose. Almost a third

(31.9%) had exercised in a driven or compulsive

way in pursuit of that goal, although that might

have been partly due to 52% of the respondents

being gym members, when the average is 12%.

Respondents, of whom about a quarter were

gay men, blamed the media and celebrities

for unhelpfully reinforcing unrealistic ideals of

physical perfection. Girls want to be slim and

males want to be big and lean, and while it isnt

a bad thing for people to want to look better, it

has become more like a competition, which has

a bad effect on most peoples mental health,

said one respondent.

Alan White, a professor of Mens Health at Leeds

Metropolitan University, said: These ndings are

worrying but not surprising. Theres been a big

increase in the numbers of British men having

cosmetic procedures such as a nose job orremoval of breast tissue; thats gone from almost

nothing to quite a signicant industry over the

last ten years. All this fuels the idea of the body

beautiful and encourages a quick x rather than

appropriate diet and physical tness levels.

Guardian News & Media 2012

First published in The Guardian, 06/01/12

NEWS LESSONS / Body image concerns more men than women / AdvancedPH

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Level 3 Advanced

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Level 3 Advanced


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Find the word4

Choose the best answer according to the text.

Find the following words and phrases in the text.

1. Why are the results of the survey newsworthy?

a. because 52% of the respondents were gym members

b. because three in ve men are affected by negative body talk

c. because previously it was assumed that only women worry about their appearance

2. What is the effect of men commenting on each others bodies?

a. It makes them exercise in a driven or compulsive way.

b. It has a negative or damaging effect.

c. It makes them join a gym.

3. What, according to the respondents in the survey, is responsible for the obsession with appearance?

a. lifestyle

b. the media and celebrities

c. stress

4. According to Professor White, the results of the survey are a. worrying.

b. surprising.

c. unhelpful.

1. a two-word noun meaning a fat stomach that a man gets from drinking too much beer over a long period of

time (para 1)

2. two nouns meaning a mark or fault that spoils something and makes it less beautiful or perfect(para 1)

3. a two-word noun meaning medical conditions such as anorexia or bulimia in which someone tries to control

their weight in a way that makes them ill(para 2)

4. an adjective that is used about people who have a habit they cannot control (para 3)

5. a noun meaning the particular shape or size of someones body(para 4)

6. a two-word phrasal verb meaning to lose weight(para 4)

7. a three word expression meaning with the aim of achieving something(para 7)

8. a two-word expression meaning something that can be done quickly in order to solve a problem or repair

something that is broken, though it may not last long(para 9)

Comprehension check3

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Complete the phrases based on words from the text using appropriate prepositions.

Complete the sentences using the correct form of the words in brackets at the end of each sentence.

Should men be worried about their physical appearance? Why? Why not?


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Prepositions5

Word-building6

Discussion7


Level 3 Advanced

1. deter someone ______________ doing something

2. obsession ______________ something

3. concern ______________ something

4. in exchange ______________ something

5. comment ______________ something

6. blame someone ______________ something

1. A lot of men believe that their arms are not ____________________ enough. [MUSCLE]

2. Many have ____________________ ideals of physical perfection. [REALIST]

3. Many believe their bodies have aws and ____________________. [PERFECT]

4. A lot of men have high levels of ____________________ about their bodies. [ANXIOUS]

5. The high level of body talk is ____________________ of an obsession with appearance. [SYMPTOM]

6. Some say that the media and celebrities ____________________ reinforce ideals of physical perfection.

[HELPFUL]

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5/5NEWS LESSONS / Body image concerns more men than women / Advanced

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Level 3 Advanced

KEY

1 Key words

1. belly

2. boobs

3. commission

4. laxative

5. physique

6. chubby

7. symptomatic

8. forego

9. respondent

10. fuel

2 Find the information

1. F

2. T

3. T

4. F5. T

6. F

3 Comprehension check

1. c

2. b

3. b

4. a

4 Find the word

1. beer belly

2. aw; imperfection

3. eating disorder

4. compulsive

5. frame

6. slim down

7. in pursuit of

8. quick x

5 Prepositions

1. from

2. with

3. about

4. for

5. on

6. for

6 Word-building

1. muscular

2. unrealistic

3. imperfections

4. anxiety

5. symptomatic

6. unhelpfully

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