Compulsive exercise and disordered eating in college men: Body shame as a mediator for appearance pressures, a mixed methods study

Objective: The present mixed-method study aims to understand the association between sociocultural pressures, disordered eating, and compulsive exercise in men, with body shame as a mediator. Participants: We surveyed 263 U.S. men recruited from a public university in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. The majority were White/Caucasian and heterosexual, ages 18–40. Methods: Participants completed measures assessing compulsive exercise, disordered eating, body shame, sociocultural pressures, and answered one open-ended question about their experiences with body image. Results: The results of our study aligned with our hypothesized mediation model: body shame mediated relationships between sociocultural pressures, disordered eating attitudes, and compulsive exercise. Qualitatively, most of the men in our study expressed having felt pressure to change their bodies. Conclusions: Our study aligns with current research and contributes to the need for future research surrounding eating pathology and the shame that leads to such outcomes in men.