Looking good, feeling fat?

Lots of us think we look bigger than we actually do - and want to look thinner than is good for us. But, asks Sam Murphy, does exercise alter our body image for better or for worse?

If you are one of the hordes who embarked on a get-fit campaign in the New Year, you have probably been seeing a lot more of your body than you are accustomed to, what with changing rooms, skimpy workout gear and all those mirrors... so, do you like what you see?

The chances are that, if you are male, you are fairly accepting of your body (although men are becoming increasingly body-focused). But if you are female, you are more than likely to be unimpressed with your reflection. In a survey for Rita Freedman's book Bodylove (£11.99, Gurze Books, available in June), women were asked: "Would you change anything about your body, if you had the chance?" Not one single respondent said they were satisfied with what they had.

In fact, negative body-image evaluation has been described as epidemic among women in the Western world. By far the biggest areas of complaint are body shape, weight and size. Still, if you keep up the workouts, and join the 60 per cent of women in Britain who are dieting at any one time, you will soon be feeling much better about your body, right? Well, not necessarily.

"Body image is about what we see in our mind's eye," believes Dearbhla McCullough, a sport psychologist at Roehampton Institute. "It is shaped by our experiences, beliefs and emotions as well as by actual physical changes in our bodies." In other words, improving body image isn't a simple case of "correcting" perceived physical faults. "If it was, eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa wouldn't exist," adds McCullough. "Research has shown that losing weight or improving body shape doesn't always have the expected positive effect on body image."

One of the reasons for this is that, for many women, body-image perception is wildly inaccurate. A remarkable 90 per cent depict themselves as fatter than they really are in size-estimation experiments, while 54 per cent of normal-weight women think they are overweight. In a recent study at San Diego State University, investigators found that women who participated in a combined exercise and health-education programme, while successfully increasing activity levels and calorie expenditure for 15 weeks, did not end up more satisfied with their bodies. In fact, their "drive for thinness" actually increased.

"This may be due to the women becoming more aware of the issues surrounding health behaviour and exercise," says Marion Zabinski, who devised the study. She warns that health-promotion campaigns focusing on the importance of exercise and healthy eating may have the unintended effect of causing unnecessary concern over weight and size – ultimately undermining body image.

Pam Rigden, a personal trainer, isn't convinced. "It is well documented that taking part in any form of exercise is not only physically beneficial but is mentally stimulating and can contribute positively to a person's feeling of self-worth," she says. "If the participants in the San Diego study felt they had gained something from exercise, it's only natural they should want to continue with it, and strive to improve. This could be translated as an increased pursuit of thinness and depicted negatively."

Dearbhla McCullough points out that people with body-image issues and eating disorders often use exercise as a way of controlling their weight and body shape; but she believes that simply participating in exercise isn't likely to cause obsession unless there is an underlying problem. "Obviously, exercise makes us much more aware of our bodies," she says. "But awareness and obsession aren't the same thing. It's a chicken-and-egg situation: do vulnerable people become obsessed about their bodies because they exercise, or do they exercise because they are obsessed about their bodies?"

In contrast to Zabinski's findings, some experts have found significant improvements in body image as a result of regular exercise. A large-scale Norwegian study in 1998 concluded that active men and women felt better about their bodies than their sedentary peers, while research from London's South Bank University last year found that female athletes were more accurate in estimating their size correctly than non-active women. The athletes were also more satisfied with their bodies overall.

Surprise, surprise, I hear you mutter – surely when you have a stomach like Denise Lewis or legs like Paula Radcliffe, you don't have to worry too much about your figure. But body image can be enhanced even in those of us who aren't striving for the lofty goals of these Olympic athletes. "If you've been out of shape for a long time, being able to, say, get up the stairs without feeling breathless, or jog for 15 minutes, makes you feel better about yourself and your body," says Rigden. "It gives you a sense of accomplishment – and one that you've achieved through using the body you felt so negative about. It's a real step forward."

Even if you start exercising with such shallow aspirations as trimming a few centimetres off your belly or firming up your bottom, other, more intrinsic rewards soon become evident, say the experts. "Mastering an activity or acquiring a new skill has a knock-on effect on self-esteem and confidence," believes Rigden. Physical exercise also has a powerful effect on the brain and can help alleviate stress, anxiety and depression through aiding the dispersal of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline and increasing the production of "feelgood" neurotransmitters, including beta-endorphin and serotonin.

Getting fit might also make you view your body from a healthier perspective. "Athletes judge themselves not just in terms of what they see in the mirror but in terms of what their body can do, how it moves and performs," says McCullough. In studies where subjects are shown photos of people of different shapes and sizes, active women tend to be more accepting of a range of different body shapes and sizes than sedentary women, and are less likely to compare themselves to unrealistic role models such as catwalk models and celebrities.

Of course, taken too far, exercise can have an opposite and negative effect on body image. The media has picked up and reported on cases of anorexia among female athletes involved in sports in which a thin, lean body-shape is important, such as long-distance running, figure-skating and gymnastics.

"In these sports, the slightest bit of weight gain can affect performance, so there is a more real risk of becoming obsessed," says McCullough. But, although some athletes undoubtedly bow to the pressure on them to maintain a certain shape and size, analysis of the research published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sport & Exercise in 2000 reported surprise at how little evidence there was regarding a causal relationship between sport and exercise participation and eating disorders – they actually found that body dissatisfaction was lower among athletes. "For the average woman, the benefits of getting involved in activity outweigh the risks," says McCullough.

Rigden agrees. "There is much to be gained from exercise, and an intrinsic part of it is becoming more aware of our bodies and what they are trying to say to us. That's something we can't achieve by simply looking in the mirror."

The facts

If you think you may be using exercise to control your weight and may be at risk of an eating disorder, call the Eating Disorders Association helpline on 01603 621 414 or visit www.edauk.com

The workouts

Mind-body exercise It doesn't have to be tai chi or yoga – anything that has an inbuilt focus on something other than physical appearance, calorie-burning and muscle toning helps broaden body-image perception away from judging the figure in the mirror. Try belly dancing, martial arts or Alexander Technique.

Outdoor exercise There are few opportunities for comparisons with others when you're exercising in the Great Outdoors. There are also psychological benefits, such as increased serotonin release in daylight and an abundance of mood-boosting negative ions.

Strength training Studies have found that increasing strength through weight training helps to increase confidence and self-esteem in women. 'Being strong physically decreases feelings of vulnerability and can help even in situations where physical strength isn't required but assertiveness is,' says Rigden.

Team sports The competitive element of games and sport again takes the focus away from the body – it's also social and fun, and emphasises skill and teamwork rather than judging others on their appearance.