perfect female body

Being thin and beautiful doesn’t sound like cause for concern, but that ideal can lead young women to be highly dissatisfied with their bodies, something that can bring about unhealthy behaviors. Now, researchers have found that certain factors, including family support and stress-busting strategies, can act as a buffer against such pressures.

The research is based on a theoretical model suggesting certain factors can boost well-being and, in turn, lead to a healthy body image. The researchers, including Shannon Snapp of the University of Arizona, wanted to test out the model.

Snapp and her colleagues decided to focus their test on college students, a group likely to experience self-consciousness about appearance, they said.

Past research has shown between 25 percent and 40 percent of U.S. college students experience negative body image and eating problems “that often include extreme worries about body image, excessive weight management strategies, and out-of-control eating episodes,” write the study researchers this week in the journal Sex Roles.